I Won't Fade
by THE KYO
Summary: AU... Never miss an opportunity. Never kiss a new student if your not sure he's gay. Never break a promise. Never sleep over if the two of you are only there. Don't say I love you if you don't really mean it. M for later chapters. Check out the Author's note in chapter 1.
1. Alarm Clocks

**Kyo_-_** So since there have been a few of **CRYBABIES** who wigg out on me at the end of this _FICTION_, I'll put it here.  
**THIS STORY DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY NEJIGAARA ENDING.**  
You will probably end up **HATING **Naruto and/or Neji and/or me if your life depends on Gaara and you hate **crossovers** [NOT OCs].  
DEAD or ALIVE people, know your video games.  
I personally don't think it's a big deal since I love them all _**UNCONDITIONALLY **_but some people are so _sensitive_ they can't handle the SHOCK at the end of this fiction because everything else they read is so completely predictable.  
But whatever, I digress...

Don't mind me, I write fanfiction for myself.  
If others happen to read it and like my ideas then a appreciate those individuals.  
I love them with all my soul... I love them soooooo hard.

_**Honestly, I'm not gonna even bother with disclaimers. This is called FANFICTION for a reason. :P**_

* * *

**Chapter I: Alarm Clocks, Screaming Monsters Calling My Name**

_3... 2... 1..._

_...NICK NICK NICK NI-NICK NICK NICK... NICKELODEON..._

_...NICK NICK NICK NI-NICK NICK NICK... NICKELODEON..._

_...NICK NICK NICK NI-NICK NICK NICK... NICKELODEON..._

_...NICK NICK NICK NI-NICK NICK NICK... NICKE_-

A hand came crashing down one the snooze button of the vintage Nickelodeon alarm clock, disappearing immediately underneath moss green coverlets. Blissful silence once more. The snoozing outline hidden beneath the ocean of green bed sheets was allowed another nine minutes of sleep.

Until the annoying chant began once more.

_...NICK NICK NICK NI-NICK Ni_-

The cheerful trio of voices never got the chance to finish the final 'nick' before two - very pale and very frustrated - hands shot out from underneath the covers to search for the off button; a small lime green leaver in the front of the clock, which was promptly pulled down into 'alarm off' mode. In their haste however, the clock was also sent tumbling to the floor, the ears hidden by the coverlets heard the crash, causing a short groan from the sleeping figure before he pulled the sheets tighter over his head.

However, nine more minutes later, another form of an alarm made itself known.

"Gaara! GAARA! Get your lazy ass up!"

Said boy groaned sleepily and poked his red head out from underneath the coverlet, squinting his eyes in the light, frowning at his visitor. She glared back.

"Don't look at me like that. If you weren't up all night on that thing..." She pointed to the reasonably new laptop atop his desk. "... then you would get more than two hours of sleep. Now get up, get dressed and get your ass downstairs. You _**are **_going to school." Waving a finger around threateningly, the elder woman turned on her heel and left, leaving Gaara to blink tiredly at her disappearing figure, he sighed.

First day of school... great. But it's not just any first day, no. Usually there are people you know waiting for you when you come back, people you've seen all throughout the summer, friends you've called every single day to make sure they were going to be there the second you stepped through the doors. But that was all back in middle school, where your only worries were coloring between the lines and making sure you knew how to multiply 7x13, amongst the rudimentary talk of finger paints and cooties. This was Gaara's first day of high school.

But wait, it gets better.

This was Sabaku Gaara's first day at Konohagakure Academy; a co-ed high school, with on campus dorms and everything. I know, really fancy, right. But that wasn't the icing on the cake, no no, the best part about Konoha Academy was that, starting from today, it would be Gaara's new semi-permanent home, instead of the practical two story apartment he shared with his sister since his father's accident a little over two years ago and had been so conveniently home-schooled from until now as well. And get this, he'd refused to check into the dorms during registration, so chances are he would enter the school knowing absolutely nobody.

Yes, this was going to be exciting (enter sarcastic eye-roll here).

Gaara sighed and slid out of bed reluctantly. He would miss the way he could sleep in all day and not have to worry about a thing. Wake up around 12 or 1, stretch, shower, probably have himself a nice late breakfast of home-style Eggo's with a glass of milk. But that would be all over as soon as his belongings were moved into his new room. Sure he could still sleep in on the weekends at school... but it wouldn't be the same. He treated this house like crap, talked down about it a lot and scarcely cleaned it, but he loved this place; it was his home.

Gaara shuffled lazily to his bathroom, taking care of his daily routine. Upon entering his bedroom once more, he pulled on his new uniform, which was too colorful for his tastes; the pants were red and yellow plaid stripe and the tie a solid crimson red - not too far from his natural hair color - pulling on a mahogany coloured vest that his sister said would 'add flair to the ensemble', he looked in the mirror and sighed.

After dressing he gathered his laptop into its carrying case - he refused to leave without it. When ready, the red head gave a sombre look around the room he wouldn't see until Christmas break before closing the door and heading downstairs to where his sister impatiently waited.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, looking him up and down and shaking her head at the sloppy mess of his hair; untidy as usual and he was in dire need of a trim, but somehow he made the look his own.

"Do I really have a choice?" he replied in a low monotone voice that was still half asleep. His sister smiled a little, sweeping some of the bangs out of his face and lifting his chin with a manicured finger.

"No, but It would be nice to see some enthusiasm."

Gaara rolled his eyes and stomped pass the blonde and headed for the car.

* * *

The drive was long, and boring. Inside of the car was even more so, Gaara never was one to strike a conversation, Temari thought bitterly. Glancing at her younger brother through the side of her eye she wondered what kind of friends he'll be able to make at the new school. They were lucky enough to receive this opportunity, their father's brother obviously had really good connections within the Japanese educational system. Thanks to him the tuition had been virtually cut in half, considering this was a high-ranking private school in one of the most predominant areas of Konoha, that meant a lot to the small, but thriving family. She just hoped he didn't let this opportunity go to waste.

When Gaara was smaller he never really tried to make friends. Whenever someone would give him the chance his temper would flare up on them. The only friends the red head managed to make and actually maintain over the years were two of the most unlikely of all and although she did sometimes question her brothers choice in friends, she was thankful that he had someone to stick by him, besides her and Kankuro.

The truth of the matter was, she was genuinely excited for him, and despite what her rather bristly nature might portray she loved Gaara and wished him the best. Even if she didn't say it that often.

Temari round her car around to the front of the boys dormitory, stopping just in front of the first building. They were tall and inviting, ivy growing all along the base. The paint was chipping in a few places, but other than a few scars, they seemed more than a little accommodating, nothing at all of what she imagined the prestigious school to embody. While letting the engine run, she turned to face her younger brother.

"Try to play nice, I don't wanna have to come back here." She gave a feigned look of worry; Gaara lifted a nonexistent brow.

"What if the other kids don't play nice?"

It could happen, but then it was better if it didn't. Reputations are everything in schools like these, or so she'd heard. And it wouldn't do well in polite society if Gaara was to have a brawl on his very first day of school.

As she explained this logic to him, Gaara's green eyes still held the faintest speck of wariness and confusion. He didn't care about reputations, she knew this. He liked - yearned - to be left to his own contentment. What person couldn't understand that? When people start delving into the privacy of others, that's when he had to draw the line, it was one of the many reasons he had no interests in celebrities, willing to air their dirty laundry whenever they see fit. It was ridiculous the lengths people would go just to be seen in the public eye.

As the red head pondered this, and many other musings that had surfaced to the front of his mind, his sister and her mindful glare forgotten, Temari sighed, reaching towards the backseat for Gaara's backpack and laptop; she shoved them into his arms. Jolted out of his sudden daze, Gaara caught them... barely.

"Just stay out of trouble." she hissed, narrowing her eyes into her 'I'm scary because I'm your older sister' look.

Gaara nodded and stumbled out of the car just as a tall lean male with medium length burnt orange hair approached the car. He looked as if he attended the high school, probably senior class, but all kids looked older than what they were nowadays so who would know... plus he lacked the schools brilliantly colored uniform. He offered a hand to Gaara.

"New kid, right? They told me to look out for one. I'm Shin Hayate, the director of the boys dorms." He smiled warmly, lifting up one side of his mouth in a crooked grin. His eyes were a soft mahogany color.

Gaara took Hayate's hand hesitantly. The older male cocked his head to the side.

"Room 613, right?" Insert Gaara's shrug here. "Right... you're late, head to the main building and find the office, I'll take care of your stuff here." He said, moving around to the trunk of Temari's car, which was recently popped open by said car owner as she watched the reasonably attractive male saunter over to the back of the vehicle.

This, Gaara saw. The disgusting way his sister was ogling the young male, that is. Oh and he didn't miss the way the other smiled and winked at his sister, or the playful way she batted her eyes. He rolled his eyes and gave a curt 'bye' before turning and heading for the main building of the school. Behind him he heard his sister laughing, it was a high, girlie laugh, meant for only one thing...

Gaara sighed.

This was going to be a long year.

* * *

The principal was a strange woman.

"I would like to welcome you to Konoha Academy. My name is Lady Tsunade, your new principal, and if you need anything, don't be too shy to approach me, alright?" her patronizing smile seemed forced and fake, it made Gaara uncomfortable. With a lack of a better reply, Gaara nodded.

"Since you chose not to attend the school's two week registration process where you were offered to pick the roommate and dormitory room of your choice, they have been selected for you. The director in your section should have a printout of all the rules that you are required to follow."

Her oddity, Gaara figured lay within the confidence she exuded, a bounding contradiction to the hazel eyes that carried drooping bags, face almost deathly pale, and her blonde stringy hair with the lopsided ponytail. She seemed antsy, like she had recently consumed an abnormally high amount of coffee that was dangerous to the human health. The principle lifted her hands as if to accept a gift, fingers twitching slightly. Her eyes were a little bloodshot around the edges.

"Are there any other questions you would like to ask?"

Was that sake he smelled? The faint odor of the alcoholic beverage lingered in the office, as if it clung to the very fabric of the upholstered seats.

"No." He was happy she didn't ask him anything about himself, but after observing her condition, he concluded she wouldn't have been sincere in asking anyway.

The principle nodded her head contently, then handed Gaara a sheet of paper: his new class schedule.

_Year 2, Class 3-c: Fall Semester:_

_Home Room 9: Gekko H._

_Algebra 2-a: Mitarashi A._

_Free Period: _-_-_

_English III: Harington L._

_Lunch Hour: _-_-_

_Physics: Hatake K._

_Japanese History 2: Umino I._

_Phys. ED Maito G._

His face scrunched, he hated physics. Too many limitations.

"Are there any problems?" At the shake of his head, she continued, cradling her head in her hands. "Your behavior is expected to be the best of your ability... - the best of your ability - ...and so on and so forth. Strive to be a leader...ah... yada yada... Look kid, can I be frank?"

Not knowing any better, Gaara nodded.

"Stay out of trouble and do your homework, that's all we ask here, OK? It makes my job all the easier."

She was right... There was nothing special about this place. Fancy wrapping paper, but the same ratty old gift inside. It didn't bother Gaara though, at least someone was straightforwards here. He hated liars.

"You will be escorted to your class today, just to get the feel of the place, OK?"

Nodding once more, the red head stood from his seat as Lady Tsunade dismissed him from her office. As he stepped out of the air-conditioned office space, glancing over his schedule once more, Gaara took simple notice of his escort; a female, with striking white eyes and medium length black - almost blue - hair. She wore the proper girls school uniform in the school colors, much like Gaara's; a simple white blouse, that seemed to pull snugly over her full buxom with a crimson colored tie, her pleated skirt was plaid, the main color being the deep red as well, the only difference being she also wore the light tan jacket that completed the ensemble. Her socks stopped just below her knee, leading down to white slippers, customary in formal Japanese schools. The pin on her blouse held a small swirl symbol; her name tag read Hyuuga, Hinata.

Oh, great.

_Not even five minutes into the school and I meet one of __**them**__, _he thought_._

Them being the social eggs of society, the cream of the crop, the best of the best in the city of Konoha. He'd heard of her family before, the Hyuuga's, a close relative of the girl - probably a brother or cousin - was a genius. Neji Hyuuga held honors in each subject, excelled in everything that he even attempted to do, even got a few recognitions from men in more prominent standing in the government. Gaara couldn't remember ever seeing him before though... There wasn't much said about the girl, Hinata, however, but her relative sure was known; their whole family were over-achievers, but there was little doubt that this girl was any different.

Another family, the Uchiha, were even more prominent, but their story was a sad one to tell. In the media, they portrayed them as victims and explained how the two young brothers overcame adversities and became the top students at each of their schools, despite the gruesome murder of their family years ago. The story was posted all over the news at the time it happened, speculations were made, the murderers were never found. Justice was never served, but the siblings would survive. If he remembered correctly, the younger brother attended the private school, so it would only be a matter of time before Gaara actually got a glimpse of him.

Hinata smiled sweetly at the red head, bowing her head some, "Hello, I'm Hyuuga Hinata, pleasure to meet you."

Again a nod, not offering a name. Instead of protesting against this action the girl placed an object in Gaara's hand; the same type of pin she had, instead the one she handed over said Sabaku Gaara. He looked up at her.

"You are supposed to wear this every single day. On it is your class number and year, it helps to identify you." She smiled her meek smile before motioning for him to follow her.

Gaara trailed right beside her, taking in all of his surroundings. The hallways were bare - save fore the random sign or poster containing school-wide events, notices and deadlines. The floors were tiled and chaffed from the countless number of feet storming down the corridors every single day. It smelled stale, yet welcoming. The same way a foreign school always smelled... you get use to it. A soft, whisper of a voice led Gaara out of his trail of thought and he turn his head towards the meek girl who had spoken. When their eyes met, sea green to pale rose, she repeated herself,

"This is it." She paused to open the door then peeked quietly inside. Chatting voices quieted to a murmur once the door opened, revealing the visiting class representative. "Gekko sensei, I have your new student here."

Upon entering the room with the blue haired girl, all clatter stopped and every head turned towards the door, eying said new student, this making him slightly uncomfortable; Gaara never liked to be in the spotlight. The girl exchanged more words with the sensei, who coughed every so often. When she finished, the sensei turned his tired-looking eyes towards the red head, offering a small smile. He gestured towards himself, beckoning Gaara to enter the room, he was hesitant, all eyes were still glued to him.

He finally made it to the front of the class, the sensei coughed again before he spoke in a louder voice than one would think him capable of.

"Everyone, this is Gaara-kun. Please make him feel welcome." His shaky hand landed on Gaara's shoulder. "Gaara-kun, would you like to say anything?"

He shook his head, bringing his gaze away from the many staring eyes.

"There's no need to be shy, you sure you don't want to introduce yourself?" he asked again in a calm, slightly wheezy voice.

Gaara sighed. "Um... I'm Sabaku Gaara..." A few girlish mumbles caused him to pause, the wheezing teacher gave a disapproving look to the duo, then glanced back at the new edition to the class. Frowning more, he continued, "... I ... I'm looking forward to learning with all of you, please take care of me." A small, stiff bow completed his introduction.

"OK, good." the sensei smiled, then looked up towards the class. "Let's see... Ah, why don't we place you just behind...Uzumaki-san, Gaara-kun? Naruto introduce yourself." he commanded, before entering another coughing fit.

Gaara frowned at the name.

Naruto.

He looked like trouble.

His hair was the color of honey, tousled and messy and looked as if it hadn't been washed for weeks. His uniform was clumsily put together, white shirt unbuttoned to show the black t-shirt underneath. His features were sharp and defined, showing that even if he acted immature, his physical adolescent stage was promptly retreating. On each of his cheeks were three scratch-like marks, probably the result of haggling some poor defenseless animal; Naruto didn't seem like the gentle type. As the boy stood to his full height, which the red head guessed was all of 170 centimeters, he could easily categorize him as a trouble maker, but he would never stereotype and besides this was going by just looks alone, for all Gaara knew, Naruto could be the perfect little angel. Blue eyes and blonde hair; the genuine cherub of obedience.

"Uzumaki Naruto present and accounted for." He smiled, squinting his eyes mischievously, and mock saluted the wheezing sensei.

Then again, maybe not.

"That's nice Naruto, now button up your shirt, you know school regulations."

The blonde sighed and did as he was told, re-buttoning the buttons that had come undone. While Gaara was busy staring at the characteristically loud boy in front of him, wondering if looks certainly were deceiving or not, the teacher redirected his attention to the red head.

Looking down, he spoke softly, "You may have a seat now."

Gaara walked slowly over to his desk, still blissfully aware of the sidelong glares sent to him by the other students in the classroom, they were beginning to annoy him. Uzumaki just politely smiled, a very wide grin.

Once Gaara was properly seated, the sensei continued, explaining what time spent in his class will be like. He seemed to be rather lenient and expected very few things out of the class as a whole. His class time would typically be spent testing on general subjects that pertain to the classes that follow his. All of the midterm and final tests will be administered by Gekko sensei as well, as to not cause confusion. Gaara concluded this must be the priority of all homeroom classes. The teacher finally concluded that at the end of the day he would return to oversee class clean up.

Eventually, one by one, all the teachers came and went each hour or so, giving their own introductory speech, and short explanation of how their rules function. Free period was skipped in favor of class introductions, where Gaara was forced to identify himself again and disclose a very brief part of his history. Eventually the bell rang, signaling the lunch hour and Ms. Harrington, the English teacher, a lovely dark skinned woman with short cropped brown hair and a shirt that seemed two sizes too small, excused the class, allowing some to stay behind if they so choose.

Immediately, the blonde in front of Gaara, hopped up to join a group of other boys that called to him from outside of the classroom door, heading out and down to the cafeteria, no doubt. Gaara stayed put, unable to find social settings appealing, especially the one of a high school lunch room. Instead he ate there in the classroom, along with the few other students that decided to stay as well. As he dug into the culinary bliss that was his mayonnaise and tomato sandwich, he notice around him the children - or rather young adults, which they liked to be referred - that weren't afraid to show their open curiosity when he first walked into the classroom.

One girl sat alone, reading a heavy looking book, her head perched atop her palm, elbow resting on the desk, lunch box unopened. She wore a girls uniform, only her skirt was designed like overalls, in the back of his mind Gaara wondered what the regulations were on that. Her hair was reddish orange, tied with a golden yellow ribbon into a low braid that hung down her back and dangled off the side of the chair - the epitome of girlie cuteness, one supposed. A boy sat in the corner, his ponytail sitting high atop his head, chatting with another boy. The other boy was pudgy in a cute adolescent way that told people that he hadn't quite let go of his baby fat yet. The two seemed really close, both snacking on a bag of chips. One boy wearing thick goggle type glasses - which was weird because it was autumn and he was inside - stood at the far end of the classroom, inspecting - what looked like - a bug collection, a small colony of ants. Gaara wasn't aware they still allowed those kinds of things in school.

Just in front of the red head and to the right was another... guy? Gaara supposed the being in the seat a short way in front of him was male, seeing that he had on a boys uniform, but his hair was unusually long, dangling down his back in a loose ponytail. He was quietly snacking on a boxed lunch of assorted vegetables. Continuing his observation, chewing delightfully on his handmade lunch, Gaara took a quick glance behind him and... nearly dropped his sandwich.

_What the hell?!_

He turn back to his meal quickly, the salty sweet taste forgotten on his tongue, blinking his green eyes as if to wash away the images that had been burned into his retina. Whatever Gaara saw, he was certain he had never seen anyone - or anything - that like that in his entire life. Truth be told, Gaara never thought himself to be a conceited person, on the contrary, he was very humble about his appearance, he never judged that of others either. Usually he would regard people with slight indifference, but - he chanced another look, against his better judgment, of course - this boy was... - it took him a while to think of the word he once heard Temari use when referring to Deidara - this boy was... unconventional. The student stared back at him, his round eyes narrowing some, Gaara squeaked and turned, attempting to try to mind his own business, as he had been doing before.

Only the boy didn't let him... oh no.

As Gaara heard the chair behind him being pushed backwards and soft padded steps coming towards him, he cringed and waited for some type of retaliation towards the way he was acting. For all he knew, the boy could have been deranged, forced to endure humiliation after humiliation from his peers because of his appearance. Maybe Gaara struck a chord with the boy, could he be angry? Aching for blood? The footsteps stopped beside him and with a quick glance to his immediate right, Gaara noticed the... _intense_ - this being the only way he can describe his uniqueness - ...the intense way that the boy was staring at him, all he could do was stare back.

They gazed at each other for long moments, one pair of eyes filled with eery determination, the other with slight fear. Suddenly the boy with the unique visage lifted his hand to a thumbs up pose and he flashed Gaara a set of gleaming white teeth. Green eyes went wide as he spoke with so much enthusiasm, Gaara almost ran screaming.

"WELCOME TO KONOHAGAKURE'S MOST PROMINENT HIGH SCHOOL MY YOUTHFUL COMPANION! IT IS ONLY IN THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH THAT WE ARE OFFERED WITH SUCH DAZZLING OPPORTUNITIES! THAT IS WHY I, ROCK LEE, DO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THE NEWEST INSTALLMENT OF OUR STUDENT BODY! WELCOME, GAARA-SAN!"

Silence.

Somewhere in the room a pencil dropped.

"H-Hi...?"

* * *

The bell could not come sooner. 1. Because Gaara had completely lost his appetite and wanted to resume class... immediately. 2. He wanted to go back to sleep. And 3. He discovered that the term 'personal bubble' had not been fully explained to the young man clinging at his side.

As soon as Rock Lee introduced himself, he begun to ask questions, much to the Sabaku's dismay. He questioned Gaara about his family... about his personal life... about himself.

Gaara got touchy, maybe even a little angry. So when he suddenly blurted out, "None of your business OK, now get the hell away from me you bug-eyed freak!" he didn't mean it the cruel way it sounded. He had a short fuse, what could he say?

The few people left over in the class looked up at the outburst, watching the scene in avid curiosity. The male a couple seats in front of Gaara turned around in his chair, staring quietly at the red head in shock.

Gaara blanched, it was his temper... he could never control it. And when Lee started to cry, quiet sobs escaping his trembling lips as teardrop after teardrop escaped from his flooding eyes, Gaara couldn't help himself, tears irritated him. "What are you crying about? Have your emotional break down somewhere else and stop bothering me." He growled irately.

Temari always said his attitude was something he needed to work on if he ever wanted to make new friends. Temari says a lot of things, he realised suddenly. But he didn't care, as far as he was concerned, it didn't really matter if he made another friend or not. Two was good enough. Sure they weren't that reliable and one was reasonably more mature than the other, but they were around whenever he needed to talk. Things would be different now that he was attending this school, however. Time spent with the duo would be shorter and Gaara really did not feel like stepping out of his personal shell to appease the concerns of his elder siblings. He could be hated by everyone at this school for all he cared.

Lee sobbed horridly and soon enough a hand landed on his shoulder, a comforting voice hushing his tears. It was the pony-tailed teen in front, Gaara read the small name tag on his shirt pocket: Hyuuga Neji, he sighed.

Another one of _them_.

"What's the matter with you?" He was saying. "You didn't have to be so cruel... he was only trying to get to know you... learn to be polite..." Blah blah blah. He gave the crying boy a tissue out of one of his pockets; Lee took it gratefully, dabbing at his tears then blowing his nose wetly.

The pale eyed boy looked at him with fury, expectation.

For what? the red head pondered. Was he expecting an apology? Why? Gaara wasn't sorry. He never apologized either, not to Temari for that time when he broke her brand new vanity mirror. It slipped out of his hands - it wasn't his fault. Nor to Kankuro when he used all his puppet string as thread when he made himself a new, albeit crooked backpack. Even when he called his former home-school teacher a miserable old fool, he didn't feel obligated to apologize. It earned him a smack in the head by the elderly man and a scolding from his sister, but he still couldn't care less.

The Hyuuga kept staring at Gaara, however, with his judgmental eyes.

"What?" the red head growled coldly, no longer bothered by the stares.

Neji shrugged, shaking his head sadly, lifting the other to his feet. As he walked away with Lee in tow, he muttered something about 'wasteful'. Gaara scowled, then rolled his eyes.

_'Let them think what they want'_, that was just about the only good piece of advice his uncle ever gave him. You could even say it was his motto, if it weren't so terribly cliche. But the point was he didn't care what people thought, as long as those thoughts didn't pertain to him. If everyone just understood that reasoning, then there would be no trouble.

The bell rang and the classes resumed. Gaara was still agitated, however, so his attention melted in and out of the random conversations that grew around him. On and on stretched stories of past humiliations, tales of former jobs and anecdotes of dreams that never came true. Gaara listened, but wasn't really focused; sometime, probably during the hustle when the class rushed back into the room, someone left a note on his desk. He stared at it, not sure what to make of the lone piece of paper, or what it could possibly hold inside. But judging from it's pink colour and the cute little iconic character that lay at the corner of the folded page, there couldn't be many possibilities. After what seemed like the hundredth story about a job that went bad because the boss got a little too friendly, Gaara sighed and picked up the note. Unfolding the paper, he read:

_**Your really cute. Do you have a girlfriend?**_

_**Check one:**_

_**yes ( ) no ( )**_

Sighing, he folded the paper in half and placed it as a makeshift book mark in one of the books in the small library of literature that adorned the shelf nearest to him. He looked ahead, not bothering to notice the eyes that sneaked back at him. He didn't care... there was nothing he could do about it now anyway, so he just let the person stare. He just hoped things didn't get any worse than this... first impressions were everything. He supposed this school was more subtle, but of course; it housed Konoha's finest.

He didn't know if this was a good thing or not, being from Suna, he had no way to interpret the way children in Konoha would react. After his little ordeal with Rock Lee, however he noticed more looks than before sneaking their way into his line of sight. The looks varied and on edge made the Sabaku antsy, he couldn't wait for class to be over so he could find his room.

"613," He mumbled, not knowing where to begin looking for the room that he was assigned to. The principal had given him a map of the school, which would help him locate his classroom, the cafeteria, gym and even the dorms, but Egyptian text was easier to read than the faded ink on the white sheet of paper. Glancing up at the clock, Gaara sighed again, earning the attention of the blonde in front of him.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the red head, not paying attention to the sensei in front of the classroom anyway. "Boring, huh?"

Gaara nodded, scribbling doodles on the makeshift map.

"So, where you from?" Uzumaki questioned out of boredom.

"Suna."

Blue eyes widened some, he nodded. "That's cool, never been there though. So why did you come here?"

"Sister made me."

That earned a laugh, which unfortunately the teacher noticed. "Naruto," said the teacher sharply, the blonde turned quickly in his chair to face forward.

"Yes Iruka sensei."

His hand went to his temple, massaging it gently. "Please pay attention. I know it's hard for you, but try, _**try **_to focus." His voice was hard but endearing, like the two had been in hundreds of situations such as this before.

"Yes sir." He answered the sensei in what Iruka liked to call his fox grin. The teacher sighed, giving the teen a heated look before turning back towards the board. Naruto obeyed - for a time - but his attention quickly averted back to the boy behind him. "You wanna see something funny?" He asked over his shoulder while crumbling up a sheet of paper he'd torn out of his notebook.

Gaara said nothing, he lifted his head in time to see the paper ball hit the head of the boy that was two seats in front of Naruto and one row over. Random giggles broke out through the classroom and as Iruka sensei inquired on the cause of such a fuss, Neji Hyuuga spun around in his chair, eying the blonde intently. Uzumaki snorted, then, unable to hold it in any longer, stared chuckling, the teacher made a 'tsk' sound and shook his head.

"Naruto, take it outside please."

"Awweh." As he got up to stand outside the door, he walked passed Neji's desk. He patted the brunette on the head before escorting himself out the door, missing the Hyuuga's growl of irritation.

_This is definitely going to be a long year_, mused the red head as the classroom door shut behind the blonde, locking him out of yet another class lecture.

* * *

A song that appeases the plot bunnies:

_Baka no Hito_ by **Miyavi**

**.**

**Neji **- _((nods thoughtfully))_ You changed some things.

**Kyo **- Yus. :3

**Neji **- But the story in general is still the same, right?

**Kyo **- ... Maybe...

**Neji **- What does that mean?

**Kyo **- Keep moving forward... :)

**Neji**- Urgh... Next chapter includes invasion of personal space, reluctance in the sharing of personal space and Rock Lee.


	2. Stubborn Child

**Chapter II: Like a Stubborn Child**

It was hard to admit, but - and due to certain circumstances in his household - it had been a long time since Neji was required to share a room with anyone. The last person being a cousin of his - and that was mostly just over the weekend. He didn't mind it too much, he found that he liked the company actually, even if they never talked about anything. Despite the mutual silence of that short lived episode, while he would rather have boarded with someone he could relate and talk to, Neji concluded that that cousin would make a much better roommate than the one to which he was currently assigned.

Difficult didn't even describe the boys personality. It wasn't as if the Hyuuga wasn't trying to be accommodating, on the contrary, he even welcomed the red head with a warm, genuine smile, figuring it would be best to let the incident that occurred at lunch pass. It was just that this person was very, very, very... unreasonable. Much like the little kid in the grocery store that gives his mother grief about a box of cereal that he's had his eye on since they walked into the store. And as he stood there arguing with the red head about why he didn't deserve to get the bed farthest from the window, he wondered how in the world fate had conjured up this little scheme.

How can such a creature become so evil? Honestly Neji had no ill thoughts about the boy, sure he was rude and hurt Lee's feelings and didn't apologize afterward, but he supposed everyone has their bad days. Rock Lee was too emotional anyway.

Neji watched in minor disbelief as the boy dropped his duffel bag on the bed. The brunette growled.

"That's my bed." He pointed out. Gaara shrugged.

"You don't mind, do you?" He threw a nonchalant look over his shoulder, daring the brunette to challenge him.

"Actually I do, seeing as I was here first." Replied the Hyuuga in a not so cheerful tone.

"Well, I don't see how its fair that just because you were the first to be assigned this room, you get first choice." Was the red heads cheeky retort. He spun to face the brunette. "I think we should start over." He proclaimed in the same deep, monotone voice.

Neji almost snorted. "I am not about to give up my place, and move all of my things just because you were too lazy to come to the opening ceremonies." He was just about irritated with the males bratty attitude.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "What's the harm? Besides, my stuff won't all fit over there." He said, pointing at the opposite corner that was virtually equal in size to that of the space he had his eye on. Gaara sat on the bed, noticing how the Hyuuga's right eyebrow twitched. The comforter was made from soft cotton and was a deep, solid purple that matched well with the rooms periwinkle walls and cool gray carpet. He had the urge to fall back onto the softness, but judging from his roommates current facial expression, he would not have appreciated that. Instead the red head leaned back and onto his elbows, waiting for the others reply.

"Sabaku-san, I don't think you understand the rules of common courtesy." Started the pale eyed teen, desperately looking for a way to calm his growing irritation. Gaara nodded.

"Well, there was this one incident, when my home school teacher tried bringing me up to date on my manners; we never really got to courtesy." Which was true, in many ways. He had stopped listening to the old man when he started to yammer on about respect and the different ways to show it, ignoring his lecture not being one of them. Due to Gaara's focus, or lack there of, the aging tutor gave up and decided that the young Sabaku's time would be better spent practicing calligraphy, and his puffing on a tobacco pipe, muttering indignation's.

Neji made a 'tch' sound under his breath, not bothering to doubt if the story was true or not, given the display of the red heads so called 'manners'.

Gaara sighed heavily, still tired after obtaining only two hours of sleep last night. He swung his bare feet onto the bed, lying back on the soft white pillow, not really caring about the Hyuuga anymore. He shut his eyes, fully prepared to drown out the rest of the day and his roommate in sleep.

Neji frowned glaring at the boy sprawled across the bed, eyes closed. '_How dare he demean everything I say, ignore me, and then proceed to fall asleep on _**my** _bed_?!' The young brunette thought to himself, getting more angry by the minute. He sat down at the edge of the bed, scowling at the red haired boys face.

Gaara felt the side of the bed give way to a slight pressure and when he opened one of his dark eyes, they met with transparent lavender irises, a pair of the most striking eyes he has seen as of late.

"Was there something you didn't understand?" Questioned the Sabaku, tilting his head at a somewhat awkward angle and narrowing his eyes to the point where they looked like black holes.

Neji chuckled, but it wasn't out of humor. He stared down at the boy for a minute longer before leaning over him, placing both hands near the sides of Gaara's head, face hovering a short distance above his nose.

"Let's get something straight, Sabaku-san..."

* * *

"It pisses me off. No matter how hard I try, I always get paired with you!" The blond pointed accusingly.

The raven haired boy lifted his head towards him in annoyance. He'd been like this for the past hour now and honestly, it was starting to give him a headache.

"You act like I wanted to be put in a room with you as well. _**You **_are the one who agreed to this. I wouldn't have minded having Shino as a roommate.... at least he's quiet."

"What did you say!?!" Naruto jumped up, even more furious than before. "Fine! go room with Shino! Go room with Sakura and Ino while you're at it! They're just waiting for the opportunity, maybe you shouldn't pass it up."

Sasuke rolled his eyes from behind the book. "Go to hell Naruto."

"Yeah, well, I'll be meeting you there. It'll be a nice reprieve from your little emo corner, nee?"

Another eye roll, and then, "Didn't know you knew such big words, Uzumaki."

A vein was bout to pop out of Naruto's temple. "Say that to my face, retard!"

Despite the blonde's aggravated challenge, the Uchiha stayed seated on his bed, smirking to himself.

At the other boy's lack of initiative and after two minutes of silence, Naruto sat back down on his bed, still slightly agitated, folding his arms and legs. Naruto didn't think there could be a worse scenario. He wanted to room with his _real _best friend, Kiba, but because of some stupid thing - which the Inuzuka refused to tell him about - that concerned Shino, he'd asked if Naruto could switch rooms with the be-speckled teen. He didn't understand it at all. Kiba was supposed to be Naruto's best friend, they should be rooming together. Not him and Sasuke.

'_Stupid Sasuke_.' He thought. Naruto growled and Sasuke made an irritated sound, glaring at him out of the side of his eye. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the teen and quietly resumed pouting.

He'd rather be paired with Bushy Brows, than this guy. At least Lee had character and a sense of humor! But him... everything about Sasuke was boring: He hated leaving his room. He hated talking to other people about things other than himself. He liked to _**read**_! He didn't have any real friends. He didn't even like manga or video games! The Uzumaki didn't know why he was so popular.

'_Probably just because he's so smart and so cool_'. The blonde concluded, thinking that he had more than enough traits to be as cool or even more so than the Uchiha. Just because he didn't have a fanclub tailing him around everywhere he went didn't mean anything.

Naruto mumbled another snide remark before turning his head in thought. So what if everyone else thought Sasuke was cooler than him, he didn't care... much.

* * *

Kiba stared up at the ceiling in his room, waiting for Shino to return from whatever he left to do. He could still hear people outside in the halls and outside of the building, too restless to just sit in a room all day. It didn't matter though, in a few hours it would be dinner, then curfew and they won't have any other choice but to go inside and spend time with their roommates before lights out. He thought over things as his eyes focused and unfocused on the walls of the small quarters, wondering if it was OK to leave Naruto and Sasuke in a room together. Hopefully they - mainly Naruto - would keep things respectful... otherwise... Kiba was in a different room, but he wouldn't hesitate to help out a friend if they ever got into trouble. He heard the door click open, he slid his brown gaze over to the opening of the room; it was Shino.

"Hey." Kiba said half-enthusiastically.

"Hey." Shino responded almost dully. "Are you sure this is OK?"

Kiba looked confused, he was just about to ask the other boy what he meant, then he heard it, the arguing. He smiled.

"Yeah, they won't kill each other. Besides, it's easier this way."

Shino nodded and looked back towards the door. He seemed... distant. Kiba already knew what was wrong, but he didn't want to bring it up, he was tired of talking about it with the Aburame. Instead he resumed his gazing at the wall and out the windows, listening to the distant sounds of child's play outside mingled with Naruto's colorful shouts.

"How long do we have to keep this up?" Shino sounded irritated.

Kiba shifted, staring at a small white butterfly passing by the open window; it landed on the windowsill. "What do you mean?"

A sigh.

"Kiba..." he closed his eyes in frustration.

"Look, I made a promise, and I'll keep it. I-I'll tell them when I'm ready. OK?"

Shino advanced slowly, in his calm, rigid fashion, stepping right in front of the brunette. He looked down at the boy with unreadable eyes behind dark frames. Kiba shifted his gaze to the other male, eyes somewhat apprehensive.

"You've had an entire year to prepare."

Kiba looked away. He didn't want to argue about this again, but Shino kept bringing it to focus. He made a promise, wasn't that good enough? There were so many things at steak, sometimes he could swear the older teen didn't understand where he was coming from. Just because he was loud and acted confident, doesn't mean that was the way he actually felt.

Shino sighed, walking back over to the door and opening it. Before actually leaving, he turned slightly to glance at the brunette still laying on the bed, gaze averted out of the window.

"I expect you to keep your promise, Kiba." With that he was gone out of the room.

Kiba heard the door click closed and sighed. He watched the tiny butterfly flap its wings lazily then flutter clumsily away. So much for avoiding that argument.

* * *

Rock Lee was an only child and aside from Neji he had no one to truly understand him. He had friends of course, but one can be friends with a person without knowing anything about them, not that he kept anything hidden anyway. Lee wasn't a very complicated person... - depending on how you saw him- and not very difficult to understand. The only problem was, no one ever _tried _to understand him, you know the saying _never judge a book by it''s cover_... it was like whenever he met someone new, their first impression was usually the one that stuck. He had plenty of examples: his first time meeting Neji, he laughed in his face, the first time he met Sakura and Naruto, they nearly ran away (actually Sakura scurried, Naruto was being dragged behind her, but he heard the short giggles the blonde omitted) his first time meeting Sabaku Gaara... which didn't end very well, he wasn't sure if it was his fault to blame or the personality of the other boy. But, in the end, upon meeting our bushy-browed, bowl haired scholar someone either screamed or laughed, today was no different.

The only variation in this reaction was that his new acquaintance waited a full seven and a half seconds after staring at him before he broke into peals of laughter, 3.2 seconds longer than Gaara's reaction, 7 seconds longer than Naruto....

Lee's frown deepened as his new roommate doubled over in the doorway, he was clutching his stomach, gasping for air. It never ends... seriously, he'd been laughing for the past ten minutes. People were starting to stop and stare from outside in the hallway. Lee grew frustrated.

"Please choose to enter or exit, people are starting to stare." He warned, crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy, now on the ground, stood up finally and wiped the tears from his eyes. His hair was black and cropped short. He had just arrived at school, apparently, with all of his luggage in tow. His shirt was plain white, his pants the same color with a red dragon design printed down each leg, his feet held solid colored sports shoes. His eyes were pointed and sharp, contrasting with Rock Lee's circular ones, face angular with a solid build for a teenager. He stepped inside of the room, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I've never seen something so hilarious before. So you're my new roommate huh?" An impatient nod from Lee. "Cool, the principal said you were OK, though I wish she would have warned me before hand. But I'm not sure if she even knew where she was."

As you know, such comments didn't affect Rock Lee.

"Make light of my appearance as you wish, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Besides..." He continued, holding up a finger to mark his point. " True skill has nothing to do with appearance alone."

The boy nodded, and for once looked seriously into Lee's dark eyes. "Spoken like a true fighter... you compete?"

"I am the reigning champion in taijutsu here in Konoha. My sensei, Gai has taught me to be the best." he said with a smile.

If nothing else interested the other boy, he surely seemed excited now, at the mention of taijutsu his ears perked, like that of a dog hearing his favorite treat being opened. "Seriously? You have martial competitions here too!?!"

Lee nodded and the boy made a sound of glee.

"That's great, I'm a black belt in Jeet Kune Do. Name's Jann _Lee_." He offered a hand, which was accepted gladly.

"Rock Lee, Konoha's handsome devil!...... Again with the laughing? _I was serious!!_"

* * *

"Let's get something straight, Sabaku-san..." Neji slightly murmured, head poised above the Sabaku's. "The way you use to do things at home, doesn't apply here. Now you have to share and live together with another person, no matter how much you may hate it. Staying with a roommate requires sacrifice and I'm afraid your going to have to give up that shitty little attitude of yours as well."

Gaara tried not to laugh. "Is that so?"

A nod. "Yes." Though the red head took his words for granted, Neji's face showed no hint of a joshing nature. "Now, do you have any questions?"

"Just one," the younger confessed, looking up into the eyes of the Hyuuga.

Neji lifted a curious brow. "Go ahead."

"Who the hell died and made you boss of me?"

Neji sighed, Gaara cringed as his warm breath ghosted over his face. The white-eyed teen had had just about enough of the boys attitude. "Sabaku-san, I'm only saying..."

"_I'm _only saying, nothing gives you authority over me." Countered the red head before the Hyuuga could get the rest of his sentence out of his mouth.

There was a pause in which both boys simply stared at one another. Neji had no idea what he was going to do with the Sabaku, if this was what he was going to be going through every day, then he'd much rather room with someone else. Anyone else.

Gaara hated to admit it, but he was becoming slightly irritated as well, and the closeness of the other boy gave him a funny feeling in his gut.

The Hyuuga sighed again and shook his head some, lifting up slightly. "There is no arguing with you then." He admitted, brushing a few locks of crimson hair off the boys forehead. His eyebrows lifted at the sight of the red ink lines on the boys brow and he moved a finger to trace over the slightly raised character.

Gaara was about to give a smart retort when the Hyuuga's fingertips ghosted over his flushed skin. The unexpected touch and softness caused Gaara to flinch slightly, cheeks fading into a light pink blush. It was like no one in this school respected boundaries. His brows furled and he glared at the Hyuuga angrily, briefly eying the offending limb that made contact with the scar above his left eye. And yet, the bastard could keep a calm face, even when hit full throttle with the Sabaku death glare. No one survived that, it had even served to send his older brother, Kankuro cowering in fear. The only person it hadn't worked with was Temari... sometimes he swore she wasn't human.

Switching his attention from the tattoo, Neji brought his gaze back upon that of the boy underneath him. "Stare at me all you like. That charm of yours won't get you this bed either." He retorted, almost sarcastically, pinching Gaara's cheek, giving it a quick tug.

Gaara faltered, blushed a little more and sputtered as he replied too hastily.

"D-Don't touch me!" He slapped the hand away from his face, only to have the offender catch his chin; he lifted him up towards his face.

"Why...?"

Neji moved very slowly, but came closer and closer; Gaara's heart felt like it was about to break out of his chest. He watched, in stunned amazement, as the Hyuuga's lips moved suspiciously closer and to his. Neji smirked when the light embarrassment turned into a full blush bye the time he was inches away. He dared even closer, then paused, so close to the red head's mouth that all he had to do was pucker his lips and the short distance would be closed. Just then, Gaara seemed to wake up out of his daze, sitting up, he pushed the brunette back, flushed, confused and irritated.

"_Did you just try to kiss me!?!_" He yelled, covering his mouth with a hand. Neji chuckled, straightening to a sitting position.

This guy was being pushy and Gaara didn't like that. Any other situation he would have told the brunette off quicker than he could blink, but right now he couldn't even form words. His heart was still beating rather noisily in his ears, his lips tingled, even though the other boy's lips hadn't touched him. Was he going crazy? Why did the Hyuuga affect him that way? The male shouldn't have had him flustered like that, Gaara was terribly confused.

"Calm down, I wasn't really gonna do it," Neji confessed bemusedly. "I thought it might freak you out... but it didn't work." He looked half disappointed.

Gaara's gaze turned hard again.

"If you ever try anything like that again, I swear-" He was halted by a pair of soft and very pliable lips on his own, eyes widening at the realization that finally set in.

Neji's lips stayed firmly pressed to the startled teens for no more than five seconds - five agonizingly long seconds in Gaara's mind - before he pulled away slowly. He didn't have to look up at the Sabaku in order to guess his reaction. He noticed the rigid stiffness in the boys spine and the way he slowly clenched his fist closed.

"You should really try to make yourself more approachable, Sabaku-san. That attitude is really your only fault." This was murmured as soft, pale eyes moved up to search the boys face, Gaara was still frozen in shock-outrage. Neji allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk slightly.

"Maa, Sabaku-san, something wrong?"

* * *

There were three loud knocks on the door, Kiba took his time to answer, shuffling lazily from his bed over to the door. Whoever it was he hoped he could get rid of them quickly, he really wasn't in the mood for company. As soon as the door was swung open, he met the friendly smile of Uzumaki Naruto.

"What do you want, I don't feel like dealing with anyone right now, Naruto..." Kiba sighed, already turning away from the door, allowing the blond inside. Naruto looked hurt and annoyed.

"But I came to hang out, besides Sasuke's really starting to get on my nerves." He pouted.

Kiba actually laughed some.

"You two haven't even been roommates for an hour..."

"It doesn't matter! I can't spend another minute in his stupid presence." Kiba flinced in irritation at the boy's too loud tone and plopped back down onto his bed, readying himself for the rant that was sure to follow the blond's agitated state.

"I mean, It's not enough that he thinks he's smarter than me, but he has to go on and use all these big words whenever I try to pick a fight with him. He thinks I'm stupid! I might not know the definition, but considering the context he uses them in, I damn sure can figure it out!" Huffed the blonde, already pacing back and forth. Kiba raised a cropped brow.

"So... you and him got into an argument because he used words you didn't understand?" He questioned. Honestly, he didn't know what the hell was going on, or why his friend was so bent out of shape at the thought of having the Uchiha as a roommate.

Naruto stopped in mid-step, staring at his childhood friend. "Weren't you just listening to me? It's not the fact that he used the words, it's because he consciously used those words because he knew - or rather thought he knew - that I wouldn't know what they meant. But I did!"

Kiba's facial expression changed and he went cross-eyed for a few seconds. "So basically you're telling me, you're pissed at him 'cause he used words on you that he didn't expect you to know?"

"Exactly." The blonde nodded excitedly, glad he was finally able to understand. Kiba shook his head, scratching at his forehead.

"Your a dumbass, Naruto."

* * *

The sound of a loud noise - mostly curses - caused an already unsteady hand to carve a deep black line right across a rose tinted cheek, missing its target all-together. The blond girl shrieked, grabbing for the napkins placed at the side of the vanity table. Her roommate and childhood friend snickered. She glared daggers at the pink haired girl as she tried fruitlessly to scrub at the misplaced eyeliner. The other turned curious green eyes out the window, eying the boys dormitory just a few feet away.

"The boy's sure are loud today. That sounded like Naruto, I wonder what he did this time..." She pondered.

The seated girl snorted.

"As long as it wasn't Sasuke, then it doesn't matter. All those other boys aren't fit to be in the same school with him, let alone the same building." She scrubbed some more at her cheek, removing the rouge and giving it a natural red tint. It started to burn, the eyeliner stayed put.

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Uh huh, and how do you figure that?"

The blond girl's eyes seemed to sparkle in admiration. She clasped her hands together underneath her chin. "Where do I begin? He's smart, handsome, gorgeous, articulate, beautiful, charming, cute, dashing, witty, cool."

"All those words mean the exact same thing. How can you like a guy based on looks alone?" Scoffed Sakura, placing her dainty hands on her waist.

Ino glared at her through the mirror, scrubbing her cheek in a wide circle. "Like there would be any other reason to like a guy." She rolled her eyes into the mirror.

Sakura just shook her head at her friends narcissistic nature. "You are so... stupid."

The blonde swing around in the seat, eyes wide in shock, "Ehh?! Say that again!" She warned, glaring at her friend meaningfully.

The girl would have been taken seriously if she didn't have a black line running right down her cheek, curving at her jaw. Sakura watched the Yamanaka scrub fruitlessly for a few more moments before chuckling at the blonde haired girl.

"Shut up, billboard brow! It's not coming off!"

Sakura growled at the nickname. "Why don't you put water on the napkin first then, hmm? Stupid."

Ino looked at the dry, ruined - from the irritated scraping against her cheek - napkin, looking a bit guilty. Throwing that piece into the waste basket she took another and stepped into the bathroom. Sakura heard the brief sound of the faucet, frustrated grunts, and then a sigh. When the blonde returned from the washroom her face was now mark free, albeit her cheek was now a bright red, it looked as if she were blushing on the side of her face. Sakura giggled more.

* * *

Hinata was never good with roommates. It didn't do her any good that she'd had a new one every semester as well. That's right _semester_, when usually roommates are switched every _year_. She blamed herself for that, though, she was the one who always asked to be transferred to another room. It wasn't because she couldn't get along with any of her roommates, it was the roommate that never wanted to get along with her. She had been threatened, yelled at, and almost slapped before, and she didn't know the reason why. They all said the same thing: Because she was Hinata Hyuuga. She didn't see what was so bad about being herself, or why people felt threatened by that. Hinata wanted to cry out... but she wouldn't... she promised herself she would become stronger, believe in herself more.

But that didn't exactly help when her roommate stared at her like she was a disease. But that didn't deter her. Somehow, someway, in some miracle, she was going to keep this roommate, for an entire year! All the girls at this school couldn't be that bad, could they? She almost wished that the dorms were co-ed... At least the boys were nice to her. They didn't look at her with unveiled disgust, like her new roommate was currently doing.

She didn't know the girl, never seen her before in her life, but the young lavender headed girl seemed to already have a problem with her. Hinata had no idea why, she tried her best to get along with people. But all this girl did was stare at her, her mahogany eyes narrowing.

Hinata gulped, she feared that this would be a long year.

"What's your name?"

The pale eyed girl squeaked, a natural occurrence when she was frightened. "Hi...Hi-Hinata Hyuuga."

The girl nodded.

"I thought so... You have those eyes."

Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, not looking up at the girl for a long while. When she did, the girl narrowed her eyes more.

"I'm Ayane, by the way."

"N-Nice to meet you." She squeaked, in her mouse-like voice, twirling her hair around a finger. _'Ok, she hasn't said anything insulting about me or my family, this could be good! Okay, quick, ask her a question, be polite, but don't get on her nerves.' _Hinata faltered again, then looked up into the girl's ginger eyes. "So you got any family?"

From the look she gave, you would have thought she'd said Orochimaru wasn't a pedophile. Ayane blinked, then sighed.

"Yes, I do. A brother and... a sister."

Hinata perked up, this was going good. More questions. "What are they like?"

Ayane seemed to think things over before speaking. "My brother, Hayate, we've been close every since we were little. I love him a lot. My sister... she's kinda like you."

Hinata tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well she's soft spoken, nice, shy at times, but looks out for others. A real loser."

Hinata didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. "Well thanks, I guess." She mumbled, frowning at the girl seated across the room.

* * *

Rock Lee stood from his current position, it seemed no one could do a proper 500 push ups without horrible screaming going on outside. He found it quite odd as well for the person screaming to be yelling out Neji's name so viciously. What could his friend have done? But more importantly, who did he do it to? Neji was always quite and - dare he say - withdrawn, the most he's ever done was berate that Gaara child for...

Oh...

He had forgotten, they were roommates after all. But the confusion got worse; shouldn't it be Neji screaming in anger...? Lee gulped and approached the door, peaking his head outside; his roommate, Jann Lee, excused himself to the dining hall minutes before. His mouth gaped slightly at the sight of the red head standing outside the door of he and the Hyuuga's room just a few feet down the hallway. The Sabaku's face was red, clashing horribly with his hair, out of his mouth poured a string of profanities directed at the young genius that was - he guessed - still inside of the room, out of sight.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" The boy screamed, he paused. Neji must have replied because then he growled, "No big deal? Of course it's a big fucking deal! How the hell did you think I was going to react?!" Silence. A little too calmly he could hear Gaara say, "Your lucky I didn't break your goddamn neck."

Lee watched as Kiba and Naruto stepped out of the brunettes room located down the hall from his, not too far from the doorway that currently held the furious red head. The duo walked into the hallway, faces curious but concerned. A lot of people - he noticed again - stopped just to stare.

Neji appeared then, leaning on the door frame, right in front of the red head. His hand was on his eye, massaging it gingerly. He did not look happy, was the first thing Rock Lee thought. Gaara tensed and took a slight step back, Naruto shouted taunts in the background. Lee was too far away and Neji spoke far too low for him to hear, but whatever it was, his eyes were serious and narrowed as he said it.

* * *

The Hyuuga vaguely noticed the audience they managed to attract. He nursed his left eye tenderly, making a mental note to next time avoid the Sabaku's right hook. He looked at Gaara, narrowing his pale eyes, the younger teen's blush was still bright on his cheeks. No doubt some of the color was due to the anger the boy radiated, but the Hyuuga - even now - still thought it was cute.

"You're making a scene, Sabaku-san." He murmured, eying the figure of the boys dormitory director closing in on them, pushing past a few stationary teenagers scattered through the hallway. Gaara scowled, trying not to scream this time.

"What's the matter, Hyuuga-_sama_, don't want to ruin your prestigious reputation?" Neji was taken aback by the vehemence in the slightly deep, growling voice.

A hand landed on both males shoulder, but Neji was the only one to look up at their makeshift mediator. Lee stared back, his face serious, Neji backed away from the red head and inched back into the room, not before the dorm director had the chance to catch the end of their quarrel.

"What's going on here?" The tall, russet haired male demanded. Rock Lee interjected before Neji or Gaara could.

"J-Just a friendly argument, Hayate-sempai." He explained, smiling up at the male who frowned at the two whom were arguing. Lee scratched the back of his neck. "Hayate-sempai has nothing to worry about, all differences has been settled, Gaara-san and Neji-san were just making amends."

Gaara glared at the bowl-cutted teen out of the corner of his eye. Since when was this his fight? And Neji really let him do all the talking. He snorted under his breath when the older male quirked a brow and asked, "Is that so?"

To which Rock Lee replied, "Honestly, even youthful pride can be set aside in favor of friendship and well being." He said, without knowing what was really going on.

The tallest of the four nodded, glancing down at Gaara, who still scowled deeply at the Hyuuga. "Well, get on with it and keep it down next time." He muttered in a bored voice before turning to shoo away the curious eyes of the other inhabitants of the boys dorm.

Turning around, Lee's eyes wandered to Neji, who only lifted a brow in return. "What was that for?"

"It's does not do well to get into trouble only in our first week, Neji-san. We have all year to do that." Lee smiled then patted the red head softly on the back. "And do not worry about our little misfortune this afternoon, Gaara-san. Bonds and friendships are made to endure such adversities. It only means that in time our youthful friendship will remain strong!"

Gaara scoffed again, earning a look from the Hyuuga. His face was turned away , arms folded at his chest. He looked back at Lee, who smiled in reassurance, giving a thumbs up pose.

"Youthful bonds are hard to maintain, you should make up with him, Neji." With that, he strode back over to his own room, leaving the two and the waining audience on their own.

Neji swore he would shove Rock Lee's youthful face in some dirt the next time he saw him. Gaara, still furious and embarrassed, pushed passed the brunette and snatched his belongings from off the bed. Shutting the door, Neji watched as Gaara moodily claimed the other bed, which was closer to the window than he cared to be.

* * *

Something to help me rock out:

_Nine in the Afternoon_ by **Panic! at the Disco**

**.**

**Kyo**- ....hnnn.... does Shikamaru sleep with his hair tied?

**Neji **- What does that have to do with the story?

**Kyo** - _((shrug))_I dunno, I was just wondering... OH! and if the Naruto realm is a ninja world, couldn't he technically meet the worlds greatest ninja, Ryu Hayabusa?!

**Naruto **- Who's that?

**Kyo **- .......................................................................... _((dies))_

**Neji **- ... um... _((takes summary from dead body and hands to Naruto))_ You read it this time.

**Naruto **- tch... Look forward to lost in translationess, more invasion of personal space, foreigners and... ME! tte bayou!

**Kyo** - _((revives)) _Keep... moving... forward... _((dies again))_


	3. I Know The Difference

**Chapter III: I Know The Difference Between Myself And My Reflection  
**

"Uzumaki-san, please refrain from whatever you were doing, or were about to do, and help me pass these out please." The English teacher chirped in a cheerful tone, holding a small stack of papers that were stapled together in her hands. The blonde nodded begrudgingly and stood from his seat to walk to the front of the class. His daily prank forgotten for the moment. Usually the class president would be the one to help with classroom chores such as these, but the Hyuuga had been ordered to the office to fetch more dry-erase markers for the blackboard, so he didn't mind much. Besides, the teacher was a really nice lady, strange, but very nice.

She smiled at him as he accepted the papers from her, and swept a few stray bangs out of her chocolate eyes. Turning to the class she began speaking once more. "Now, what Uzumaki-san is so generously handing to you are a collection of poems," She held up a packet of her own, emphasizing the three pieces of stapled paper with writing on each of them. "The poems are in English." A few groans were heard in the back of the class, including Uzumaki, who finally took the time to glance at the top of one of the sheets. The sensei giggled warmly. "Wait, I'm not finished." She protested, holding up her hands to defuse future sounds of discontentment.

"This is only a test, to see how good your English phonetics are, **OK**?" More unenthusiastic mumbling. "I'm not asking you to be perfect English speakers, I just want to know where you stand, so that I know I'm pointing you in the right direction." She glanced over the class, meeting reluctance, Neji chose that moment to walk back into the classroom, placing the supplies on her desk. Naruto had just made his way back to the front of the class, to hand her the leftover packets. She gave one to Neji and nodded for him to take his seat.

"_Come on_," She said in English. "It will be fun, I promise!" A girl in the back of the class hesitantly raised her hand while looking down at the unfamiliar print. "Yes, question?" The teacher asked encouragingly.

"What if we don't know how to pronounce a word?"

"I'll help you through it." She explained, nodding. "I don't expect every pronunciation to be perfect." More hands went up and she was excited to see such a response.

While the teacher continued to answer curious questions, Gaara felt a little queasy inside. He didn't know how to read English very well. Because he was a junior, he was expected to at least know how to read and/or recognize basic English grammar, but he barely knew how to do that. In home school, Gen Fu, his teacher, was Chinese and thus taught him to read and write Chinese as well. He had only encountered the English language twice in his life; one was nights spent over Deidara's house, and even then the American words were laced with a heavy french accent because Helena, Deidara's mom, was originally from France. His blonde haired friend knew the language - along with french, Italian and a little Spanish - as well, but he didn't want to be bothered with learning from him. And another was the brief tutoring he received from his uncle, but that was so long ago....

He didn't know why they had to learn anything but Japanese - which he was barely passing - thought the red head stubbornly. He looked over at the Hyuuga who was glancing down at the paper casually, eyes skimming each line. He bet the brunette was fluent in English. Of course he was, stupid Hyuuga's are good at everything. Or maybe he was still sour about what happened yesterday. It wasn't like there was any reason for him not to be. He had plenty of reason to be angry! That was why he ignored the Hyuuga, whenever possible.

You would think that since two people shared the same bedroom, it would be resoundingly difficult for them to ignore one another. But granted just enough effort and stubbornness, the impossible can be accomplished. Though it had only been a day, he made no other contact with the brunette since then.

The teacher clapped her hands together.

"OK, if there aren't anymore questions, I suppose we can begin." The room was silent and she sighed. "No volunteers?" Naruto coughed behind his hand a few times, but other than that, there was no immediate response. _Lisa_-sensei - the name other than _Ms. Harrington_ she allowed the students to call her - brought two fingers up to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Alright, if that's the way it's gonna be, then I guess I'll have to choose a few volunteers." Looking around she noticed how the red head in back seemed to shrink in upon himself. Smiling she pointed in Gaara's direction. "Sabaku-san, since you seem the most willing, why don't you start us off?" Briskly she motioned towards the class. "And don't be afraid, we're all your peers, no one is here to judge you."

Sighing deeply, Gaara stood, knowing that she would pick him. Of course she would, he thought, she always picked him. Or Naruto, he added after. Picking up the paper, he shuffled a little.

"The first poem, if you please." The teacher announced, sitting on her desk and crossing her naturally tanned legs.

Gaara gulped. The poem was easy enough, he recognized some of the words, but he wasn't really sure about his diction. His eyes glanced upwards and landed on a pair of snow white irises, the Hyuuga looked at him with no particular expression. Gaara guessed he'd taken too long to start, because the teacher then said:

"Just take your time, no rush." She smiled and Gaara took a deep breath.

_"...Be-bi's bo-to ...ah _shiberu _mu-n_," How embarrassing, it was a children's poem... "_Seiringu in za... sukai. ...Seiringu obah ah shi of... shreepu, whiru za... sutarusu... fro-to bai. Seiru be-bi, seiru... O-to uppon zat shi. Onry don't fa-geto... tu seiru... bakku ah-gen tu mi..._" There were two more stanzas, but he didn't think he could make it. He knew he sounded horrible. He was Japanese! Of course he didn't know English well...

He turned frightened green eyes towards his teacher, who smiled at him, encouraging him to continue. But Gaara didn't want to, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Don't worry about it, you're doing really well. Finish." She encouraged. But Gaara - stubborn, prideful Gaara - was done, he shook his head. "Please?" She said it twice, once in Japanese and once in English. Gaara couldn't help but notice her perfect English accent... well, she was American after all.

He shook his head and sat down, finally letting the blush of embarrassment dance across his face in spite. Lisa-sensei made a sound of disappointment, but nodded anyway.

"That's OK then, that was really good, though. A bit more practice and I think you'll be perfect." She praised, but Gaara wasn't listening anymore. He laid his head down on his desk, resting his forehead on the cool wooden surface. More students were chosen to read out loud and it comforted Gaara - if only a little - to know that he wasn't the only person in his classroom, despite their current grade, to be horrible at reading English. There were a few, though, that - and he hated to admit - he was envious of.

Neji spoke perfectly, of course, so did a boy named Shikamaru, who sounded like he didn't even want to be in class at that moment. A girl by the name of Kasumi skipped an entire stanza, but the teacher promptly reminded her. Lee stumbled over a few words but did mostly well, and Naruto... well, he couldn't even understand what the hell the blonde was saying... At the end the teacher clapped her hands together and looked at the clock.

"OK... The lunch bell will sound in a minute... so I will make this quick. I admit that this isn' t what I imagined you all to sound like, but I'm excited to have something to work with. It just makes me wonder about the quality of teacher you had last year..." She added sadly, shaking her brown head. "Your homework is to study those poems - preferably with a partner - and tomorrow we will start anew, deal?" The class as a whole gave enthusiastic responses.

Not a moment later, the bell rang and the teacher dismissed the students, bidding them farewell for now. As the children filed out of the room, she lingered behind.

"Gaara, can I have a few words with you?" The sensei asked when the room was moderately empty, save for a few seats of teenagers.

Gaara nodded, stood, then walked to the front of the class. He eyed the teacher warily. She wasn't going to chew him out for not wanting to finish the rest of that stupid poem, was she?

"I've done my homework on you, and I know it was rude of me, but I couldn't help it, seeing that I am a new teacher and there was no educator I could consult with about your previous educational experience." Gaara nodded, not seeing a problem with her looking at his record and not caring really. "But I've noticed that you were home schooled before you came here, right?"

A nod. "Yes."

"Mmm," Lisa-sensei shook her head as well and smiled. "Well - and don't take this the wrong way - but it worries me that you are not on the appropriate educational level as the other children are."

Gaara's eyes narrowed into a warning look, as if she had insulted him some way, but she figured he would probably misunderstand her intentions.

"What do you mean?" The teacher chuckled lightly.

"Im not calling you stupid, Gaara, I just believe that you might be behind on a few subjects." Suddenly Gaara understood, his eyes shifted away from hers.

"Oh..."

She leaned forwards on the teachers desk an crossed her legs, studying the Sabaku's face. After watching him shift uncomfortably for a few seconds, she asked, "What do you think? Are you able to keep up in class?"

Gaara sighed, irritated that he had to have this conversation. He wasn't stupid! He could understand. It was just that sometimes he wished he did listen more closely to his home school teacher. "Sometimes. But most things I can't completely figure out." The teacher nodded, slowly, pursing her lips.

"OK, so, what I was thinking was how about we find you a tutor? You know, some one to make sure you're on track?" She watched for his response.

Gaara thought it over for a moment before questioning. "Who did you have in mind?"

"Well... Neji-kun, come here please." She motioned for the boy that was seated just in front of her desk and Gaara paled.

'You have got to be joking.' He thought. He watched Lisa-sensei slide of the desk and gently grab the brunette by the shoulders. Her smile was bright. Neji's face was blank, almost as if he didn't care.

"Neji has offered to help you. It works, right? You two are roommates, nee?" The questions were just making Gaara dizzy, he didn't want the Hyuuga to tutor him.

"Y-Yes, but..." He was cut of before the thought was finished, however.

"Then it's settled. I expect a lot of good things from you Gaara-kun." She chirped, patting his head and floating out of the room. As the clicking sound of her heels disappeared completely, so did Gaara's appetite. He wanted lunch to be over already.

* * *

"Having two versions of the same letter is pointless, in that case they should have made more characters."

Neji sighed, he'd never seen so much stubbornness since the time he told Naruto his impression of Joey Wheeler was lacking in character. They had been studying vowels and their different sounds when the red head made that little outburst. First he criticized 'C' for sounding too muck like 'K' at times, then 'V' for being a modified version of 'B'. Neji had no idea how much more of this whining he could take.

"...And why is Y sometimes a vowel? Can't it make up it's mind?"

Neji stroked the side of his temple. No wonder the home school teacher quit. "That's not the point, Sabaku-san."

"Then what is?" Gaara folded his arms across his chest and stared at the brunette.

"I'm telling you all this because if you want to know how to _correctly_ pronounce words, you have to know how the letters work."

Gaara scoffed, but stayed quiet.

"Now, the letter **I** is pronounced 'i' like in the word 'kit', but when you add an **E**, the letter becomes a 'long i' as in the word 'kite'."

The red head growled, he remembered all of this, but it didn't make any difference, if he couldn't say the word correctly, then what should it matter if he knew the proper way to say it on paper? He listened to the brunette with half interest while simultaneously looking out the window at the deep purples and oranges painted across the sky. He leaned an elbow onto the small table, covered by a light blanket that adorned the middle of their room.

Neji noticed the other boys lack of attention and chose to ignore it. "...the letters 'e', 'i', 'g', 'h' make the same sound when put together as the 'a', 'y' in 'way'..."

"Can I ask you a question, Neji?" The brunette was surprised by the sudden comment. He looked up into soft green eyes. Sighing, he nodded in acquiescence, allowing the boy to continue.

"What was with you yesterday?" Neji looked at the red head curiously.

"What do you mean?"

Red color stained the boys cheeks in irritation. As if he didn't know. Committing the deed was one thing, but to completely ignore that it happened was unbelievable of the Hyuuga. Gaara frowned again at the memory, every time he thought about it his cheeks would burn, not always out of anger either. "You know what I mean." He said pointedly.

Neji took the tone of the younger males voice as serious and set the advanced English book aside for the moment. "It was just a kiss, Sabaku-san. I really don't see why you are making such a big deal out of it."

Foam green eyes narrowed. "It's a big deal because I make it one. It might be some flimsy little kiss to you but it means a lot more to me!"

The Hyuuga sighed, if he knew this would be the reaction, he would not have bothered joking like that in the first place. He never thought the red head would take it so... personally. Well... that teaches him to be friendly, he mused. The one time he attempt to open up for someone and it all blows up in his face, much as he guessed Lee was wrong, politeness and niceties are not the way to go... perhaps he should resort to his former demeanor, at least then no one would get the wrong ideas about his intentions.

"Look, Gaara, I apologies, OK?" Gaara eyed the brunette suspiciously. "What now?"

"Don't act so familiar towards me." He stated, crossing his arms across his chest.

It took a while to figure out to what the boy was referring to. After a moment a slender brow rose in amusement. "Why, because I called you '_Gaara_'?" The red head nodded, causing the Hyuuga to chuckle lightly. "You prefer to be called, Sabaku-san?"

It looked as if the read head had to think about his answer, "You've called me that since we met, why do you feel the need to change now?"

"Because I believe we have grown closer, Gaara." He smiled. Spots of anger dotted the red head's cheeks and he struggled to keep his temper in check. Their dormitory director had already given both boys a warning, anymore trouble and there would be consequences and repercussions to face, or so he said. Either way, Gaara really didn't want to risk the chance of detention or something remedial like that.

Not if Konoha's detention was anything like his home-school teachers detention. He shuddered mentally.

"Besides," continued Neji. "When two people share something as intimate as a kiss, formalities are often discarded."

Gaara couldn't tell if he was teasing him or not, which generally made him angry. The red head scoffed, landing back on his haunches. It was true, they had kissed, but why was he reacting this way? The impassive side of him told him to react with his usual disdain an bland nature. Yet another part of him, one he could not recognise, silently screamed at him to remember. Remember what the other boy's lips felt like, remember how it made his heart momentarily tumble sideways. It was almost as if that part was telling him he had liked it... but that - that inclination and anything it suggested - was ridiculous... But still, it was irritating him how conflicted his emotions were.

"Gaara what do you think about girls?" Neji asked suddenly, pulling Gaara out of his trail of thoughts. The other eyed him warily.

"Why?"

"I want to know." He shrugged.

Gaara made a face but took a moment to really think about his answer. Besides Temar and a few of her friends he'd never really interacted with those of the opposite sex before. Not that he didn't like girls, he thought, he just didn't have time for them. He never paid attention to them... honestly.

"They're loud..." He admitted after a moment, mind wondering to his sister. He frowned, "... and obnoxious, spend too much time in the bathroom and on the phone. They flirt their way out of speeding tickets and always fuss at me to comb my hair." His scowl had deepened by the time he was finished and Neji smiled at him.

"Sounds like you speak from personal experience."

Gaara nodded, "Yes, I do. Temari, she's my older sister."

"Is she nice?"

A shrug. "She's my older sister." He decided to let the brunette do what he will with that piece of information. Temari was nice when she wanted to be, but most of the time she acted like a real witch, with a capital 'B'.

"That the only relative you have?"

"No. I have an older brother, Kankuro." Then he thought about his situation. "Why are you so interested?"

The Hyuuga shrugged, folding his legs. "I was curious."

"Hrmph." Gaara eyed the other boy skeptically. It was strange, the way he changed like that. Earlier today, and during most of their tutoring session, the Hyuuga acted as if he didn't even know the red head existed. Now he couldn't keep his nose out of Gaara's business! He frowned, from the time the brunette kissed him, he'd been receiving mixed signals from the other male. He was confused. He would go from embarrassed to angry in an instant, all depending on one glance from the Hyuuga. He couldn't understand why this person affected him so much. Gaara folded his arms over his chest.

"Gaara," he heard the brunette say.

"What?"

Neji smiled a little. "What are you thinking about?"

"You're just full of questions today, aren't you?" Gaara sighed irritatedly and glanced at the Hyuuga. The way the teen look at him, it was hard to describe, but it made his gut feel weird again. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, turning his face away as soon as those pale - yet very soft - lips lifted into a grin.

"You're cute, Gaara."

Sea green eyes widened in... well there inlay the problem, he didn't know if he was suppose to be shocked, surprised, flattered, disgusted or embarrassed. The blush that formed on his cheeks didn't wait for him to decide, however, as he turned his eyes back onto the Hyuuga. He looked at him with his head cocked and that unreadable expression on his face. Gaara's stomach flipped upside-down this time.

Neji moved closer, he couldn't help it... the boy was really cute. He supposed it was the negative influence that he had been recently involved in that made him act so directly, but he didn't care either way. He needed a distraction anyhow, and Gaara provided it in the perfect form... there was just something about red heads... He grabbed the boys arm, pulling Gaara closer to him. Gaara looked up at him with wide, sea-foam green eyes, but stayed quiet; Neji's lips upturned softly before he lowered them down to the younger boys own half parted lips, Gaara gasped when gentle, but firm teeth bit down on the fleshy part of his lower lip.

The knot in his gut tightened and he had no idea what the hell he was going on. What was the Hyuuga doing? Why wasn't he saying anything about it?! He could easily threaten another punch to the eye, but the butterflies in his stomach and the fog in his brain warned him against the action, too caught up in the sensation of the gentle tugging on his lower lip to even bother to notice that this - the situation - was all wrong. In fact, Gaara was too busy concentrating on the too foreign feeling to generally discern that what the boy was doing went against all of his morals and personal boundaries. It wasn't until a new, more interesting sensation occurred, when the red head's alarm made itself known. The warm, wet feeling dragged across his bottom lip, soothing the dull ache that was cause by teeth moments before. He shivered, against his own will and pushed against the other boys shoulders stiffly. He needed to get out of this situation.

Neji pulled away slightly, only to push the boy back onto the carpeted floor. Gaara made a small grunting noise in the back of his throat before, turning his eyes upwards to glare at the long-haired Hyuuga hovering over him. "Get off of me." He warned calmly, hands pushing the elder back at arms length.

Neji looked down at the red head's face; the faintest blush peeked through, his breathing, however was calm. Neji was not sure if his actions had an effect on the boy or not.

"Why?" He countered, pulling one of the pale hands away from his shoulder and bringing it to his mouth. He kissed the damp palm and watched closely as the red heads blush scattered and deepened. The hand was slightly smaller than his own, he noticed, and so much softer... He let his thoughts roam for a while and closed his eyes as he flicked his tongue over the palm of the captured limb. Gaara flinched, snatching his hand away.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He accused, wiping his palm on the leg of his pants, his blush increased ten fold.

Confused. Gaara was beginning to loath the word. What was he doing? No. What the hell was the Hyuuga doing? He licked him. Did he have any idea how disgusting that was? He didn't know what kind of germs the white-eyed boy carried around. As he cleaned his flesh of the invisible threat, he barely noticed the long, chestnut brown hair lowering down, framing the sides of his face. Before he had the chance to complain about the older by and his long, silky hair, those damn lips were on his own again.

Gaara was tired of this little game. It was stupid and frankly, he had enough. Preparing to speak his irritation, he pushed at the others shoulders again, this time keeping his hands balled into fists. Neji made no move to back away this time, instead he applied more pressure to the boys lips. Gaara opened his mouth to... he didn't know, but most likely what he had to say probably included a number of colorful words, contributed to his vocabulary by his older brother. He had not the chance to demonstrate his eloquence, however, because the mouth that was on his own moved with his, opening up to shove a moist and very warm silencer into his orifice.

Neji slid his tongue against the younger boy's pink organ and felt Gaara stop breathing. He was so still and unresponsive, Neji didn't like that. He wriggled his way between the red heads legs, laying on top of him, so that he may deepen the kiss. Experimentally, and with as much caution as he could muster - for fear of being bitten by the boy beneath him - Neji rubbed his tongue against Gaara's once more, at the lack of response, only then did he dare to grow bolder.

In Gaara's mind, he was fighting a losing battle. At that moment, he had no idea what to do.

_I want to kiss him back, but... God, my stomach feels weird, I think I'm gonna be sick. His tongue is so warm against mine... he tastes kind of like pineapple... he must of had fruit for lunch again today... What am I thinking! He's a guy, I cant just...just...!_

Just then, the brunette ground his hips gingerly into that of the boy beneath him. With a short groan, Gaara opened his mouth wider, pushing his tongue against the organ that chose to invade his space a second time. Neji's eyes widened as he was anchored closer to the red head, but soon composed himself when Gaara started to kiss him back. He snaked his tongue around the other pink organ slowly taking the breath away from the red head. Their kiss was soft, thanks to Gaara, but still passionate, which Neji couldn't help but applaud silently.

Neji hovered above him, holding up his weight with his forearms, not trusting any more bodily contact - silently he berated his wayward hips - besides that with their lips. Gaara was hesitant as is - despite this recent turn of events, he noticed appreciatively as the red head's face twisted into a concentrated frown - he didn't want to push the Sabaku too far, he was enjoying their exchange far too much to risk it ending far too soon. With his head tilted at a slight angle, he deepened the kiss, exploring the smaller boy's mouth more thoroughly. For the briefest of moments, he thought he heard Gaara moan slightly...the thought intrigued him, but he went against it. Instead he broke the kiss - in too much need of air - regretfully pulling away from Gaara's moist, slightly swollen lips. Neji bit his lip to keep from kissing the red head again, a thought which adamantly choose to stay in his mind, and the look in Gaara's eyes made him want to obey that urge.

Glazed over and slightly hazy green eyes looked up at him curiously, before they widened in horrible realization. Gaara pushed the brunette backwards and away from him, wile sitting upright; he clasped a hand over his still tingling lips. He couldn't hide the blush that bubbled through his skin this time, what was worse, he couldn't blame it on anger. Gaara's breath was ragged, but not from hostility, his mind buzzed, heart beat rapidly in his ears, but all weren't the cause of fear or some other emotion. Gaara looked up into the clear white eyes that belong to the person who affected his body and mind so much.

Neji waited a few moments to catch his breath. "Wow," was all he could say in the end. He smiled devilishly.

Gaara widened his green eyes, not believing his ears. "What?!? NO! Not '_Wow'_.... Gross! Ugh, I just... I just...!" He buried his face in his hands out of sheer embarrassment, shuddering slightly. Neji gave him a curious look, tilting his head to the side, he had yet to fully move away from the Sabaku.

"Are... are you OK?"

"No." He frowned. Gaara needed time to sort out his thoughts, but there was only so long that he could keep quiet about this before his head started to explode. What did it mean? What did this say about his own sexuality? He had never been in a relationship with a girl before, but his quiet fantasies weren't about guys either. To be frank, relationships of any kind - besides that with close friends or relatives - hadn't made much of an impact in his life as of late. Gaara was 16, and he didn't even _want_ a girlfriend. But that was normal... right?

"Gaara, your thinking too much." Neji said softly, pushing some of the damp bangs out of the green eyed teenagers face, noticing the confusion in the boys features. He knew, because he had been just like that... once upon a time. When he had his first... encounter... with another male, he was just as confused and - maybe - just as afraid. Gaara, on the other hand, looked confused, afraid and irritated. That look suited him well, it was something about the face the red head made when he was angry... he chuckled inwardly, it was cute.

A low growl made itself known in Gaara's throat. "You do something that threatens the very delicate nature of my sexuality, and not expect me to be upset about it?" He accused, glaring up at the brunette through dark lashes. Neji smiled bemusedly.

"Why would your sexuality be delicate? Unless you weren't secure in it in the first place...?"

"Of course I was secure!" He shouted, face heating up again. What was with him suddenly? he's never blushed so much in his life. Gaara thought that it might have something to do with the Hyuuga and the... spell he put on him. Yes, it was a spell, voodoo, or something! he wasn't acting like himself, and the brunette - whatever it may be - was the cause of it.

Neji nodded in faux empathy. "And yet, you kissed me."

"You. Kissed. Me." Gaara pointed out. Now he was ready to hit the Hyuuga... again!

"Gaara I think you are blowing this whole thing out of proportion. It was just a kiss."

Again with that 'just a kiss' deal. Gaara thought that - with his intelligence - the Hyuuga would have gotten the point into his big, stupid brain. A kiss isn't something that should be just tossed around so haphazardly!

He took a deep breath. "I'm only going to say this one more time. It might have been '_just a kiss'_ for you, but it wasn't for me." He admitted evenly, even though a terrible rage was boiling in his stomach.

It was apparent that the boy was taking this rather seriously, and Neji could understand that. When a boy was kissed - or, in turn, kissed another - boy for the first time, it was generally a big deal. Then it dawned on the brunette... perhaps that was not only the first homosexual lip lock the boy had received, but his first kiss ever. His white eyes widened fractionally as he looked at the red head then, in a new found light. Gaara looked slightly uncomfortable and a little agitated. Surely he couldn't ave been _that_ innocent, Neji thought.

"That was your first kiss, Gaara?"

Before the red head could even answer a melody started to play that - suspiciously - sounded like a theme song from some Disney feature... Gaara jumped when the tune started to play, then quickly realized what was the cause of the distraction; his cell phone. Almost too quickly, he shuffled away from the brunette, leaving his question forgotten and unanswered. He rummaged through his belongings to find the device. Upon retrieval of the small piece of technology, he flipped open the front and frowned when he noticed the name and number. What did Temari want now? Neji looked at him curiously as he pressed the 'talk' button.

"Hell-"

"GAARA!!!" A loud squeal-like voice answered before he could say the full greeting. he pulled the phone away from his damaged hear and glared at the speaker. After a while - when there was relative silence - he brought the device back to his ear.

"Hello, Deidara."

"Hnnnn, how'd you know it was me?" The male pouted on the other end. Gaara sighed.

"I almost went def, that's how I know." he snapped, the giggle heard was way too familiar. Subconsciously, he noticed the Hyuuga shuffle back to their kotatsu table, to finish his homework. He would never admit this to the blonde, but Gaara was immensely grateful for the distraction Deidara provided.

"Maa, Gaara, when are you coming home? We miss you!" He chirped happily, Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I've only been gone two days."

"Nnnn, yeah, but I'm dieing here!" the elder boy wined. Gaara swore, for someone who was suppose to be entering his first year in University, Deidara sure was a crybaby. He didn't know why, but the blonde's smarts never caught up to his personality. Well, all geniuses were weird, he supposed, stealing a look at the Hyuuga.

"Where are you?" he mumbled, remembering who's name popped up in his phone. "Why do you have my sister's phone?"

Deidara sighed. "Me and mom were in Shibuya when she spotted Temari. They started talking, then I asked about you. She gave me her phone - seeing how I lost all three of my previous cell phones and, in turn, could not communicate with you through telepathy - and said it would be OK for me to call right now. Why? Were you busy?"

Gaara quickly glanced at the boy on the other side of the room and shook his head, even though the male on the phone couldn't see the movement. "No, just studying."

"Uwaaah!" he thought his eardrum would burst again and pulled the phone away from his head while the blonde squealed, waiting till he was finished before pulling it closer again.

"Gaara studies? Hnnnn, the world is coming to an end. What are you studying?"

Smiling faintly, Gaara answered his friend, "English."

"English...? You could learn that from me, hnnn."

"Probably, but I need a tutor with an attention span longer than three minutes." On the other end, Deidara huffed indignantly.

"Says the boy that couldn't pay attention longer than five seconds, hnnn, when his home school teacher brought a certain _someone_ to visit." It was Gaara's turn to turn red and sputter indignities.

"I did not."

"Unnn... yeah, you did." The blonde confessed, a slight smile in his words. "You were swooning. And every time the two of you exchanged looks..." he gasped dramatically and clutched his heart. Gaara couldn't help the irritation he felt. "It was... hnnnn, like a romance story. Love at first sight!"

Gaara growled, not so sure if this distraction was worth it at this point. He had forgotten about his teacher and the student he would bring around on occasion. He doubted he ever swooned in front of the person, considering it was Deidara that was saying it - he admit, the blonde liked to embellish the truth a little - it could not have been very plausible, he thought.

"Deidara, I think you were reading too much into-"

"Hnnn, Sasori says hi." The blonde cut of the red head, knowing that he was going to deny the fact. He smiled at the change in the others voice.

"How is he?"

Deidara shook his head. "You should call him, hnnn, I think it'll make him feel better." There was a pause as Gaara thought this through, chewing in his bottom lip. A call to the fellow red head wouldn't hurt... Then Deidara was back on the line. "Well, I have to go, Gaaaara-chan." he knew the red head hated the nick name. "Don't forget to drop a postcard, hnnnn."

Gaara nodded, though the boy couldn't see. "I won't."

"Unnn, love ya, Giggles!" The line went dead and Gaara had the urge to throw the phone at the wall. Where Deidara got his nicknames from, he couldn't begin to guess. He didn't mourn the loss of the eccentric boys conversation until he looked up into the expectant white eyes of the Hyuuga. He really didn't feel like studying at this point.

* * *

A little song that makes me giggle:  
_Barbie Girl_ by **Aqua**

**Kyo **- In case any of you were curious, or just didn't get it, here's the first poem Gaara was trying to read:

Baby's boat's a silver moon  
Sailing in the sky,  
Sailing over a sea of sleep  
While the stars float by

Sail baby, sail  
Out upon that sea  
Only don't forget to sail  
Back again to me

It's actually the beginning to a bedtime story that I've had since I was little. It's one of my favorites n.n  
I didn't mean any harm by the mispronunciation of the words, I just thought an English illiterate Gaara would be kind of cute x3

**Gaara **- I could totally say that if i wanted to.

**Kyo **- Mmmmhmmm...

**Gaara **- I could.

**Kyo **- (condescendingly) Yes, I know.

**Gaara **- ((death glares)) The next chapter gets pretty emotional, and the author gets rather bloody...

**Kyo **- Eh, heh heh.... Keep moving forward?


	4. Pushing For Love

**Chapter IV: Pushing For Love Won't Agitate the Heavens**

There were only so many things that caught light in an ongoing conversation between Naruto and his best friend, Kiba, one of those things being relationships and either boy's involvement within one. The topic had been brought up by Kiba in the form of his inquiry to Naruto's first - and presumably only - girlfriend after said boy announced that he in fact was not a virgin and had copulated with said female. This, Kiba furiously doubted, having known the blond for the better part of the past ten years, insusceptible to the boy's embellished lies.

Eventually Naruto couldn't stand the doubt and inquired that the Inuzuka had never, in fact, been in a previous relationship before and if he had, then it was never observed upon with his eyes. Well, this was said with fewer words and many more profanities, but it was the message that was trying to be conveyed, of course. Kiba retorted that Uzumaki wouldn't know what a relationship was if one had sauntered up and given him a lap dance, thus, the whiskered boy grew agitated.

"I'm so blind that I couldn't tell a relationship if it hit me in the face, eh?" Kiba sighed.

"Finally, he's starting to get it." the brunette mumbled, taking a languid sip of his juice box. He loved apple juice.

"Kiba," the blonde growled, face turning a horrible shade of red. "I'll have you know that my last relationship was one of the best I ever had. We lasted a year. One whole year!" He gloated, but quickly regretted his outburst at his friend's next few words.

"Oh? Then what was her name? How come I never got to meet her then, hmm?" At Uzumaki's lack of response, Kiba shook his head and sighed. "You're such a bad liar, Naruto."

"I'm not lying!"

Lee placed a restraining hand on the boys arm. "Don't get so carried away, Naruto."

"But I am telling the truth! He's being an asshole." He yelled down at the bowl cut boy, and then turned back towards his brunette best friend. "Just because I don't flaunt my girlfriends or whatever around like some jerk, doesn't give you the right to tell me that I'm lying about it."

"Since when have I _flaunted_ anything - girlfriend or otherwise - in your face?!" Kiba was starting to get red in the face; this argument was getting more out of hand than usual. Naruto gave him a mixed look, crossing his arms offer his chest, finally leaning back into the padded seating of the cafeteria chair.

"Hi-to-mi." was the Uzumaki's rebuttal, like the one word explained everything.

Kiba flinched, hunching his shoulders some. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shino shift slightly - only slightly - in his chair. If he had been anyone else, he would not have noticed the uncomfortable action from the boy.

Hitomi.

That was a very awkward subject to bring up in the company of all parties present. Especially that of Shino and Kiba. The Inuzuka didn't really like to talk about it; it was a simple phase in his life - where he couldn't figure himself out. He had been confused, and threw the girl - and their relationship - in as many people faces as he possibly could. He also ended up hurting some along the way. He glanced at Shino again, his expression stoic.

It was when their relationship started; the brunette had adamantly refused the possibility of him being gay. When the Aburame kissed him, suddenly, for the first time, he panicked, pushed the boy away. That was the first time he realized he had feelings for the eccentric boy, but because of their lives - and family - he could never act on those feelings. He refused to act on them, what would his mother say? What would his friends say? He was afraid.

Then he met Hitomi.

It was Valentines Day, he remembered, when she confessed her love to him with a box of the sweetest German chocolate he had ever eaten. At a loss for anything else to do and terribly confused - scared would be a better word - he accepted the petite girl's offer, agreeing to be her boyfriend. He thought it would be good for him, to help him out of his funk. He thought showing her off would benefit him; somehow show Shino that, no, he wasn't gay. As if to say 'Look at me, I'm 100% heterosexual!' But he was wrong, so, so very wrong...

Kiba looked up at his friend with angry eyes. Hitomi was a name better left in the past. He realized his mistakes, though he had almost been too late and almost lost the one who he had truly wanted to be with. Damn his friends and family. But he could damn them only for so long.

Eventually they had to find out. Or so Shino threatened almost every day.

"Naruto..." he warned, voice close to a dangerous growl. Uzumaki smiled, ignoring the silent threat. His face was smug as he said,

"Can't defend yourself now, can you, mutt-face."

"You're going too far, Uzumaki." The brunette warned, but the blonde took no heed, he kept goading.

"You were the one who asked to give an example. And - if I remember correctly - she was the last _thing_ you threw in my face. Honestly, the two of you made me sick. Pretending like you were so _in love_, always pampering each other, seen together everywhere. I never expected anything like that from you, Kiba." Naruto announced, face twisted into a grimace of disgust. Kiba mentally cringed. If he only knew...

"Well... - though I hate to admit it - you do have a point..." Uzumaki was a second away from throwing his arms in the air in triumph, until his best friend continued. "..._But_, that still doesn't veto the fact that you are still a horse's ass when it comes to relationships."

Knowingly and with the previous argument settled, for the moment, Kiba walked right into another quarrel. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately... perhaps he was to inept at evading questions he just didn't want to answer. Besides, arguing with his friends about remedial things was easier.

"And you would know that how, hmm?" The blond inquired, standing this time, with his fists at his waist. He eyed the brunette skeptically, watching him nibble half of a French fry. "Have you ever _met _any of my girlfriends?"

Kiba looked as if he was seriously contemplating the question. He looked towards the dingy ceiling of the cafeteria for answers. Suddenly he shook his head. "No, I haven't. Not even the one you _claim_ to have dated for a year. A **good** best friend would have introduced us, but I understand. She was probably ugly as shit and you were too ashamed, right?" he concluded, dipping a fry into a small container of ketchup and popping the fried potato into his mouth.

"You wish! Any girl I date would be twice as cute as any of the stupid wenches you bring home!"

"_Uzumaki Naruto_!"

Naruto cringed. _Here we go..._

He turned around slowly. "H-Hello Ms. Harrington-sensei." The boy smiled politely, but it did nothing to alleviate the outraged look on her tanned face.

"Uzu-maki Naru-to..." She started slowly again, her too sweet voice calm - too calm - hiding her outrage. "Did I just hear you disrespect a young lady by calling her a '_stupid wench_'?"

"I'm sorry Ms. Har-"

"That kind of behavior is unacceptable! And I will _not_ tolerate it from one of **my** students!" She continued to berate, Uzumaki's shoulders slumped and he bowed his head in shame. He listened to the female teacher's lecture with half ears, however. Though, somehow, in some way - probably thanks to Iruka-sensei - she was invulnerable to his lack-of-paying-attention tactics and gave him a sturdy tap on the head.

"Don't nod at me and play me for a fool, Uzumaki." Naruto sighed, looking the teacher directly in the eye. "I don't ever want to hear such crude language from your mouth ever again, is that clear?" Her spine stiffened and she placed both hands on her slim waist, with such intimidation, Naruto couldn't help but to nod meekly. Satisfied with the reply, the dark skinned teacher gave a cursory glance to the group seated around the lunch table and, with the silence and grace with which she entered, she left just as suddenly.

Naruto stared at her disappearing figure for a moment, before turning back to his group of friends. He didn't appreciate the look on Kiba's face.

"Yeah, laugh it up all you want." he sneered offensively, sitting back down at the table.

"But, and I have to agree, you deserved the scalding by Ms. Lisa-sensei, Naruto." Lee provided, overlooking the blonde's glare of irritation. "Women should be treated with honor and chivalry, not talked down upon, no matter what your views of them are. Especially in their youth, they are the most delicate of creatures and it is our duty - as men - to protect them."

"Lee, please, if I hear one more thing about youth, spring, rainbows, or whatever the hell Gai-sensei drains into that silly little brain of yours, I'll make you understand the concept of a 'tweezer'." Naruto threatened, causing the boy to frown uncharacteristically.

"Naruto-kun, why ever would you do something so foolish? My abundant hair brow is a sign of my prominent youth! I am on the verge of becoming a true man! Why, even Gai-sensei says his never grew at such a rate!" the young taijutsu master proclaimed, in a voice louder than needed, earning their table a few curious stares.

Jann Lee laughed behind his hand, while Naruto's eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"Anyway, before we got on this ridiculous subject-"

"And before you got lectured by that super sexy teacher," Jann Lee added randomly, poking at his half eaten miso soup. For all the talk about the school and its curriculum, the food sure did suck...

"-thank you, _Lee_. Anyway... the subject of Hitomi has not been properly brought to light."

"I suggest you drop it now, Naruto." Kiba warned, eyes serious.

"Why not? You still too burned to talk about it?" A hostile grunt was his answer.

Naruto didn't know why, but the Inuzuka had a problem discussing the girl since the break up occurred almost two years ago. Had he been that in love with her? It was a possibility, they were impossibly close. All. The. Time. Kiba spent more time with the girl than he did with Naruto. So you could say this little quarrel was out of jealousy more than spite, but Naruto wouldn't be the one to admit it.

"Just let it go, Naruto." Shino this time spoke, earning a fleeting look from the blonde. Naruto almost forgot he was there, sitting just between him and Kiba. Shino had the power to blend in that way. There was still one thing Naruto didn't understand, though.

"How come you wanted to room with Shino and not me, Kiba?" He asked suddenly, after all the noise had died down. Kiba looked a little sick when he finally lifted his head to the Uzumaki.

"Uh... because..."

"Because what?" He hadn't really expected Naruto - of all people - to accept his vague answer. "I'm your best - your **best** - friend. And you throw me under the bus for Shino. Do you know how much hell it is to have to room with Sasuke Uchiha?" The boy lifted a brow. Kiba shrugged nonchalantly, picking his words carefully.

"Sometimes I need a break from you, Naruto."

Despite the previous argument, the blonde looked hurt; his lips drew down into a melancholy scowl. He watched his friend pick at a few more items on his food tray before pushing the meal away. When he got up to leave, so did Shino, the quiet teen took both their trays and deposited all contents within the wastebasket at the other end of the room.

Rock Lee - unlike their fifth party, his roommate - took the scene with a concerned countenance. Watching carefully as the two brunettes left the room before addressing the blond haired boy seated next to him.

"Naruto, perhaps there are many things that Kiba would like to say, but are not able to say them at this moment."

"Well, he made his thoughts just now horribly clear." The blonde rubbed his hands down his face in utter despondence. "I don't understand him lately."

Lee frowned in thought, and then placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Perhaps a conversation with him in private will help?" He offered. Naruto nodded, turning his blue gaze away from the table, locking eyes with the Hyuuga before shrugging.

"If it's something he can't say in public, then he won't want to say it in private either."

A sigh, Lee removed his hand. "I'm not so sure, Naruto-kun..."

* * *

Neji's eyes turned away from the blonde just as Hinata sighed, taking a sip from her juice box. "I dunno Neji, there... there's something here you're not telling me."

The brunette nodded, steepling his fingers.

"And rightfully so."

"Wh-What is that supposed to mean?" Neji shook his head, not bothering to answer.

There was a contemplative silence for a few moments. Hinata regarding her cousin seriously, Neji looking everywhere _accept_ at Hinata. She mused over the remainder of her half forgotten lunch, absently spilling rice into her steamed carrots, making an orange and white mess of her plate. Hinata remained quiet a few moments longer. Then she said:

"So how have _you_ been, Neji?" The question was unabated, so it took the male Hyuuga a while to answer.

"I'm good, why?"

Tilting her head, the blunette's features became thoughtful. "You haven't been here. I-It's like you're here physically, but your mind is somewhere else. You seem more... more distracted, than you use to be." She added as an afterthought, finally pushing her tray away from her, her stomach growing upset.

His smile was soft as he stared at the younger girl. "I'm fine, Hina, honestly."

Hinata nodded and smiled some at the nickname. She lifted her soft orchid eyes to his. "I'm glad. It's good to at least see you smiling again."

Neji nodded thoughtfully. Had he been smiling more lately? The brunette wondered, could it have been because of his new distraction? He waved absently to a passing student as she wiggled her fingers shyly at him.

"I suppose. I needed to get out of that funk anyway." Hinata shook her head in accordance.

"I was worried about you for a while. I know it was tough, but you moved on. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, ne?"

Neji raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Where did you hear that quote from?"

"It's English. It makes sense, don't you think?" Smiling, she leaned forward, clasping her hands under the table. "Lisa-sensei said it to me once. I think I'm going to make it my life motto." It was an endearing sight that made Neji want to laugh, so he did. In controlled chuckles, he managed to say,

"It suits you." He hadn't missed the sparkle of appreciation in his cousin's eyes. It was amazing that they could still talk this way after so long.

Still smiling, the brunette looked at his wristwatch, pursing his lips in the process. Neji looked up at his cousin then, giving her an apologetic smile. "I should head back to class, the bell's going to ring soon."

"Oh..." She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I'd better get going to then."

Waving back at the girl, Neji continued onward, mind still wondering back to his previous conversation. He shuffled out of the way just as Kiba, followed by Shino bristled past him in a hurried manner.

"Wonder what's their problem..." he thought quizzically, deciding to take the opposite route to the classroom in order to avoid a surly female teacher.

* * *

Kiba strode ahead of Shino, heading back to his classroom. It irritated him that the boy had followed him, mainly because their classes were at completely opposite ends of the building. He quickened his pace, but the Aburame still succeeded to stay just a little ways behind him. Kiba paused, just next to the boy's bathroom.

"Shino, I need to be alone right now."

Instead of walking ahead, the boy replied. "That was the perfect time, Kiba." The brunette shut his eyes closed, as if to wish himself away from the position he was in at that very moment.

"Not now, Shino." The brunette dismissed, preparing to walk away again before his arm was grabbed suddenly. Turning to meet his lovers eyes Kiba frowned at his reflection in the ever present glasses. He focused instead on the elder boy's set lip.

"Just now was the best time. He was there, listening, quiet for once! All you had to do was explain what was going on. Why you really traded him for me."

"I didn't trade anyone." he defended, brows furrowing. "Right now the both of you are in my life. I didn't switch one for the other. I still have you and Naruto."

"I bet he doesn't feel that way."

Kiba cringed at the teenagers words. He was right, right now Naruto had no idea what was going on, and it was foolish of him to think that the blonde would figure things out for himself. Talk about dim... he hadn't known Kuranai was pregnant until her ninth month. He sighed exasperatedly, not knowing what to do.

As Shino opened his mouth to speak, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of their afternoon classes. Kiba shrugged the elders hand away.

"I have to get to class."

* * *

At schools end, Shino eventually found Kiba back in their room, huddled on his bed. He looked as if he was sleeping and Shino debated on whether or not he should disturb the boy.

Kiba spoke softly at Shino's silence, "I can't just say what I feel all of the time. Unlike you, I actually have to deal with the consequences of the choices I make." he paused, looking at the wall in front of him. "Nothing has ever been easy for me and I doubt, when all this comes out," He made a vague sweeping gesture with his right hand. "...that things will get any easier." After a moment of shared silence, he added, "I don't expect you to understand."

Shino turned to Kiba then, regarding him carefully from behind his glasses. He sat down on his bed before he spoke. "How can I, when you don't let me? You never let anyone - no, not even Naruto - understand anything." His voice was calm, not angry. Kiba didn't think Shino _could_ get mad.

"These kinds of things wouldn't happen; you wouldn't have to feel this way if you just told the truth."

Kiba snorted, willingly walking into yet another argument.

"Same song, different melody," he muttered. Shino shifted, but did not break his gaze on Kiba's back, his frown deepened, due to his position, the brunette didn't notice.

"I'm serious Kiba." The Inuzuka made an irritated sound, sitting up on the bed and throwing his hands up in defeat.

"I know you are, that's what makes it so frustrating. If it was another time, another place - if I was another person - then yes, sure I'd speak up, but now? Do you have any idea what could happen if-"

"Stop it!"

Shino's patience was wearing thin on the entire situation. It had come to a point where he didn't know how to deal with it anymore. But more importantly, he had come to a point where he did not know how to deal with the young brunette. He was tired of the deception, tired of Kiba smiling in people's faces and then betraying them behind their backs. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be, this wasn't how he wanted it.

He removed his dark glasses and stood to stalk over and grab Kiba by the shoulders. "I don't understand what you're so afraid of, Kiba!" Kiba had never seen so much force - so much anger - in his old friend's voice, it almost frightened him. "You keep hesitating, missing the chance to tell everyone everything. There were moments when I debated telling them myself! Don't you see what keeping this from everyone is doing to you? You have more fights with Naruto on a daily basis than I care to count. _We_ don't even get along well anymore; all of your relationships are breaking down. What will you do when they are gone?"

"Shino... Don't you think this is hard enough for me?" The brunette said dully, staring into hard hazel eyes.

"I can't imagine why it would be."

He didn't understand what was keeping the other back, why he was so afraid. If Naruto was truly his best friend, then they would remain that way no matter what he told the blonde. If they were honest to goodness best friends, Naruto would stick by him and even, by chance, help Kiba reveal it to his mother as well, since all of Shino's attempts had been in vain.

Kiba huffed, shaking his head furiously. "You just don't listen, do you?!"

**"**_**I**_ don't listen?! I'm right here, ears open, ready for what you have to say! All **you** have to do is talk. Say something. Anything!" His voice was aghast and unbelieving; he didn't want to count the number of times he inquired to the brunette to tell him why, all the reasons for his hesitations.

Kiba's eyes, filled with an inconceivable emotion, turned away from his friend and - at length - his boyfriend. He was tired of it as well, didn't he understand that? Shino didn't know, but Kiba did. He knew what everyone would say, he knew how they would all act. What his mother would say, what she would do, how she would act. She was the main reason why he was so afraid to tell anyone anything. Shino had never met his mother before, he never took the boy home, in fear that his mom would have gotten suspicious. Naruto, on the other hand knew his mother, he knew what she was like, even if he didn't know about Kiba's situation, he knew it wouldn't be tolerated.

He needed Shino to understand that too.

"You know, you just don't get it." He started quietly; Shino stared at the side of his face, listening, scowl still set in his features. "Don't you think I'm tired of it too? I'm, I'm tired of arguing, and I'm tired of the pretending! I'm sick and tired of wondering if my friends - mainly my best friend - are going to look at me differently if and when I tell them I'm gay. I'm afraid that my own mother will disown me and kick me out of the house!"

Shino let go of the younger boy, seriously listening now. He hadn't known it was this serious. He watched as Kiba's face grew angrier, as his lithe body shook with the emotions that he had kept in for so long, probably willing himself not to cry.

"You think you are the one with the problems in this relationship? You-You're lucky, your parents already know, hell, they even support you! My family isn't like that. After my father left, my mother stopped tolerating a lot of things." He counted off the requirements on his figures with expressive motions. "_No _D's or F's, _no _staying out late, _no _drinking, _no _drugs. Why do you think she sent me to this school? She can barely afford the tuition, but she pays to know that I can have an education without being corrupted. She's done all this to protect me from outside influences, and then if I casually say to her, 'Yeah, you did all this crap to shelter me, but by the way, I'm gay,' how do you think she'll react? Homosexuality in my house is unheard of!"

By the time he finished, tears had already begun to stain his cheeks; he desperately tried to blink them back. Shino pulled the boy closer to his chest, heart hurting for him. Kiba squirmed despite the comforting embrace.

"Kiba..."

"No! I don't want your sympathy now!" He tried to push out of the elders arms, still crying as he did so, only making Shino's arms wind tighter around him.

"Yell at me like before! Don't try and comfort me like I'm some little child... go ahead and make me feel worse about myself."

His resolve was starting to wane, his efforts of escape becoming less fruitful. Shino took the chance in his exhaustion to place his lips over the younger boys, kissing him soundly. Kiba resisted no longer and stopped trying to fight the Aburame off, fists clenching into his gray jacket.

Shino pulled away to look momentarily into watery brown eyes.

"I told you... I'm _always_ ready to listen Kiba."

The brunette quieted his tears to a few sobs, still clutching onto the others jacket. He sniffed and nodded his head slowly, looking away from the Aburame's hazel eyes; he'd been doing that a lot lately, he noticed.

"I wish you wouldn't make me feel like a helpless girl about it though." He sniffed again, wiping at his runny nose. The statement earned a small smile from the taller brunette.

"Crying about something does not make you a girl, Kiba." he stared at Kiba, who nodded dully in return. He was glad. Kiba needed to know he didn't have to endure this all on his own, and he didn't have to keep everything bottled up inside. Maybe his mother wouldn't understand, maybe she would. He would never know unless he talked to her about it first. But he hated to bring the subject up around the brunette, in the times that he has, it has rendered the normally loud-mouthed, daring boy into a quivering little puppy. He hated to see him so helpless.

There was nothing he could really do for the Inuzuka but encourage him. Encourage him to be strong and believe in the people around him. Just because it had been easy for him, Shino took no time entertaining it would be just as easy for Kiba to 'come out'. It was a difficult process; you loose friends, family, trust. People often tend to turn their back on you, hate you, all because of this choice of lifestyle. He hated that the world and its ideals were this way, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He was just one person after all.

All he could do was comfort the boy in his arms. Even though he hated to see his boyfriend so broken, at times like these he relished the chance to see Kiba soft, calm, in comparison to his usual behavior. He had Uzumaki to thank for that.

It was times like these that he couldn't help but to lift up the other boy's chin, and brush his lips across those of his male counterpart. Kiba sighed heavily, pushing his lips against that of the elder boy, desperate for the contact. Their kiss was slow and soft, but meaningful, and it seemed to drag on for days, again a rarity in their relationship. Usually the kiss would be hot, quick and passionate and usually initiated by the Inuzuka when he was in need of attention, or when he was generally ticked off. In any case this was different, simple, and held so many more emotions within. Shino's way of saying those special words.

Kiba sighed again, wrapping his arms around the older boy, leaning back and onto the bed. Shino pressed their bodies together softly, not completely willing to give out any other contact, though the brunette below him was tempting him greatly. Kiba pushed his hips up and into that of the other teen's, Shino grabbed one of the Inuzuka's long legs and wrapped it around his waste.

"Kiba..." He breathed against the others mouth.

The brunette gave a small grunt to show that he was paying attention.

"We can't do this right now." Kiba snorted, pushing the older boy off of him.

"Figures."

"Kiba..." Shino said gently.

"You know, Shino, all I ask for is a little comfort. What good does it do when I can't get it from the one person who _says_ he loves me?" Kiba's eyes were hard as they stared at his companion.

He was tired of this, being pushed away. It was like nothing ever got better, things with him and the other male always seemed to get worse. There was no breakthrough, nothing was ever good enough. Kiba wasn't good enough. It was tiring to try and keep up with someone who kept constantly looking down on you because of everything you did, or didn't do, in Kiba's case.

Shino said nothing, simply looked at the brunette, eyes empty without the shield of his ever-present glasses. Kiba didn't want to guess what kind of emotion was held behind them. Finally the raven haired boy opened his mouth to speak, when he did, the words came out very slowly.

"I don't want you to do anything that you might regret." His voice was low, so much that Kiba could barely understand what he had said.

Kiba jumped up, irritated, gesturing his hands absently. "What do you mean, 'something I might regret'? Is it so much to ask to make out with my boyfriend?"

"Calm your voice, Kiba." He pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. The Inuzuka hated that, now he really couldn't tell what the other was thinking. Kiba shook his head.

"No! You always ruin the mood, with that stupid detached attitude. Sometimes I swear it's like you don't even care!"

Shino sighed. Again, this was a song he often heard from the younger brunette. He knew it wasn't him Kiba was angry at, but it didn't keep him from feeling bad about it, even if it was only a little.

"Kiba, you're getting angry at the wrong person." He said evenly, looking up into frustrated brown eyes.

"I know that!" The Inuzuka shouted in defeat, turning away from his partner. "Fuck... I'm snapping at everyone lately. What the hell is wrong with me?"

Shino stood and placed his hands over the others shoulders. "You're just stressed, is all. Calm down. Breathe."

Kiba did as he was told and took a deep recuperating breath. He had to figure out some way to end this; he didn't want to continue this way. Always on edge, barking at the first person that passed by or said something he didn't like. He was seriously jeopardizing the relationships around him. He knew it was going to be hard, but he hadn't anticipated this emotional roller coaster ride.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Both teens looked up at the entrance, then directly at each other. Kiba faltered for a little while, not really wanting to answer right now, he didn't feel like telling whoever it was to go away. Their visitor knocked again and Shino sighed, moving away from Kiba.

Moving towards the door, he put a hand on the handle and twisted it open. He came face to face with a very uncomfortable looking Naruto. Kiba's face drew down into a frown as he stepped past Shino and right in front of the blonde.

"I came to apologize for before... what I said. I... um..." He paused, pulling at his ear - an act of nerves. "I don't mean the stuff I say, you know. So, no hard feelings?" he smiled his fox-like smile, tilting his chin up some. But it seemed... incomplete, like the smile was out of habit, rather than necessity.

Kiba's expression never changed, save for the fact that his eyes widened when the blonde admitted he had only come to apologize from before. Yeah right. Never in the span of time that he's known the Uzumaki had he ever apologized. He had to have some type of ulterior motive...

Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, if you don't forgive me... I guess I can underst-..."

"Naruto..." Kiba interrupted. "Is that all you have to say?" His confusion showed slightly in his brown eyes. Naruto blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Kiba rolled his eyes and dragged the blonde into his room. Naruto gave Shino a weary look before turning his eyes back to Kiba.

"I know you heard me, Naruto. Me and Shino's... conversation."

"You mean your... argument?" Naruto corrected.

Shino frowned. "It is not polite to eavesdrop, Naruto." Shino said, folding his arms across his chest.

Naruto spared a look at the bespeckled boy and frowned. "It's not like I had my ear to the door, you guys were yelling to all hell. What were you trying to do, wake the dead?" Kiba actually had the nerve to look sheepish. Naruto's frown grew. "And besides, I don't even know what the hell you were yelling about, these walls muffle loud sounds." with that concluded, Kiba let out a heavy breath.

He sure hoped the blonde was telling the truth.

"Well, you could have knocked sooner and kept me from making an ass out of myself." Kiba sighed despairingly. Naruto smiled.

"So what were you arguing about? Grass not greener on the other side?" The brunette frowned, looking away from amused blue eyes.

"No."

"Kiba, what's really going on with you, man?" he asked sincerely. It was really troubling the blonde. He and his best friend were becoming distant, he didn't like that. Naruto was a very social person; he didn't like to argue with anyone. That this hit so close to home, made it all the more personal.

"It's nothing." The brunette mumbled half-heartedly.

Shino, after observing the situation and gaining that the other male would not take the initiative, he finally spoke up.

"Don't lie, Kiba."

Naruto looked at the male, his eyes covered by dark lenses, then turned back to Kiba with a puzzled look. "What's he talking about."

"Nothing," The Inuzuka growled. "So just ignore him." he continued, looking over to Shino with a deep scowl.

"You couldn't get a better time than right now, Kiba." Shino muttered calmly, standing in the far corner of their room, next to the window. Kiba growled again, growing more agitated.

"Why can't you come off this? He's my friend; I'll choose when to tell him."

Naruto was terribly confused, "What's going on here?" He placed a hand on Kiba's arm, turning him to look him in the eye. Kiba tried his best to avoid the gaze. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Kiba..." The Aburame warned again, in a voice slightly calmer than the last.

"FINE!" Kiba shouted, past fed up with the situation. He didn't care anymore, he hated the way this made him feel. He hated the way he treated the people around him because of this stupid secret. Anything to stop Naruto from looking at him the way he was.

"Fine, alright? Naruto I'm... -shit - I'm gay, OK? The reason why I wanted to room with Shino this year and not you is because he's my _boyfriend_ and I wanted to be closer to him. There, now you know!" He turned to Shino. "Now he knows, are you happy?!"

* * *

Something to sing along with:

_Man in the Mirror_ by **Michael Jackson (R.I.P.)**

**Kyo **- Dood, Gaara isn't in this chapter at all...

**Naruto **- Your face is bleeding.

**Kyo **- Somewhere in the middle of making it 'all about Kiba and Shino', I forgot to give him a role...

**Naruto **- What's up with that anyway? Why is Kiba treating me so badly?

**Kyo **- I wonder if ppl will be shocked by the time they get to chapter six... meh, I'll just keep moving forward.

**Naruto **-...

**Kyo **- OH!! Naru-kun!! Here, read this!!

**Naruto **- _((sigh))_ I love Gaara and want to have prettyful man-babies with him...

**Kyo** - Tte-Bayou!!

**Naruto** - ...Ehh?!


	5. If I Can't Forget

**Chapter V: If I Can't Forget Those Memories, Then I'll Change Them**

Gaara felt like a bad friend as soon as the boy picked up the phone.

"What is it?" he sounded horrible, voice weak and dry, and so very, very dull. It had been a week now, but he guessed it was still affecting the fellow red head. It was hard to tell, he had been too afraid to call the male after the funeral. Even before the visit to the hospital.

"Hey, Saso... how are you?" He winced, when did it get so hard talking to his best friend?

"I'm fine." He sniffed, Gaara knew better. Sasori's grandmother, Chiyo, was the only family he had left. Without her he was lost, alone. Well, the boy still had him and Deidara, but family was hard to replace. He focused on a part of the wall in order to keep his mind clear.

"It's still really bad, I'm guessing."

"Hmmm." The other agreed, voice monotone over the phone.

Gaara wished he could have been there to really comfort him. Speaking over the phone in times of grief always seemed impersonal to him, fake. Or at least that's how he felt when his father died.

"It'll be ok, Saso, I promi-"

"What did you call for?" the voice on the other line cracked, Gaara heard a few smothered sniffles. His heart broke for his friend.

"Don't cry... Sasori, I know it's hard now, but-"

He was cut off again.

"I'm not crying!" Strangled sob's followed his outburst as the other teen wept openly into the phone. Gaara clutched the receiver with both hands.

What do you say in a situation like this? He didn't know, he had never been the one to console another person in their grief. It had always been him. His mother. His uncle. His father. He could repeat the same things many people had once told him and his siblings when they were teary eyed, dressed in their black clothing. But words, for the most part, were empty. Besides, there wasn't much he could say to make the pain go away. Only time could do that.

"I'm so sorry, Saso..."

"Why..." question was broken with a particularly loud hiccuping sob."...why me? Why her? Why now?" His voice was angry, but still heavy with despair. Gaara licked his lips thoughtfully.

What to say? ...It was her time? ...God has a plan for everyone? ...Eventually, everyone dies? It was all bullshit really. Why did anyone have to die? Why did the ones left behind have to suffer? Why must we grieve? He had always kept his feelings inside; he never found the chance to mourn openly, something his sister constantly showed her concern for.

In the most soothing of voices, he tried to calm his friend, "I know- I know it hurts, there isn't anything you can do but let the pain take over you. Let it out, cry. Cry as much as you want." Sasori sniffled again, wiping at the involuntary tears that formed at the Sabaku's words. "But don't stay in that place for too long. Think about your grandmother, would Chiyo-baa-san want you to grieve over her like this?"

Faintly, he heard the reluctant, "No." the boy whispered.

"I'm not telling you to be sad, Saso, I just think you should know that death isn't all about mourning, it's about the celebration of life as well. Don't think of 'how life is going to be without her', instead think of 'how life was when the two of you were together'." He heard a small confirming noise on the other line. "You understand?"

"Yeah... She'd probably tell me to be a man and get over it..." His voice was still broken, but he didn't sound as upset. For that, Gaara was grateful. "It still hurts, though."

"I know."

"At the hospital, before she... I was so afraid of telling her I loved her, of telling her goodbye." Silence ghosted over the phone line, but the Sabaku waited patiently. "I regret that now."

Gaara shook his head, sinking into the corner of his bed. "Don't do that, you'll only feel worse about yourself."

"I can't help it." The other sounded as if he were about to cry again.

Gaara hated this; he willed away the tingling sensation that began in the back of his eyes. He couldn't stand to hear someone crying, then he would cry. And become no use at all. He was supposed to be cheering his long time friend up, not making him feel worse.

After a moment of thinking, Gaara came up with nothing to say to the boy that wasn't already said to him at one point or another by family or visiting friends of the family. Another quiet sob broke through the silence.

"At- At least she's with Captain America now."

Silence.

Sasori snorted, and then rewarded the red head with a hearty, slightly wheezy, laugh.

"That was something I would expect out of Deidara." He chuckled still, but Gaara didn't care to remind him that he was being serious. He sat back against his headboard and fiddled with the sheets on his bed.

"It got you to laugh, didn't it?"

"Mmm," he responded, laughter dieing down some. Sasori picked at the tissue in his hands, ripping it in ribbons. "I miss you a lot, Gaara."

He let a smile curve his features. "I miss you too."

"Handling Deidara alone is a hassle." This time the red head let out a short chuckle. Sasori sniffled again. "Are you coming home for winter break?"

"Mmmhmm." He confirmed, noticing the change in attitude. Deidara was right, calling him had been a good idea.

"Did Dei tell you the news?" He heard the elder boy blow his nose over the phone. Gaara waited till he was done before he gave an answer.

"No, what?"

"I'm surprised, he's been bragging all week." the red head said dully, a faint hint of humor in his voice. Gaara waited for him to continue. "He's got a new boyfriend."

Gaara sighed. "Oh, really?"

Deidara getting a new boyfriend was like changing dates on a calendar, it happened far too frequently. Needless to say, Gaara wasn't surprised.

"He say's its serious, but you know Deidara... He was serious about Ryu and Hiroaki and Keishiro and Toya as well." he sounded skeptical, which was not unheard of in the subject of Deidara and his many past relationships.

Gaara always wondered why the boy moved from partner to partner so frequently, but, he supposed, in youth, the blonde didn't want to be settled down with just one person. In his eyes, that was the way he saw it. Or perhaps he could not find the right person... Gaara had met the majority of Deidara's ex's and he could speak from experience, they weren't all entirely pleasant to be around. All except for Ryu, maybe, Gaara really wondered why he let him go...

Sasori sneezed, waking the Sabaku out of his thoughts.

"Ugh... I need more tissue.... Hold on." Gaara grunted in response, waiting as the red head left the phone briefly to fetch another box of Kleenex. He chewed his lip as he waited, debating one whether or not he should tell the older red head what transpired between him and the Hyuuga.

The other teen returned to the phone, blowing his nose noisily. "You still there?" his voice was muffled through the tissue in his nose.

If he told him, at least he would get it off of his chest. Then, perhaps he could know how to handle the situation.

"Yep."

"What were we talking about?" Gaara paused, seriously contemplating the question.

"Deidara and his new boyfriend, whose name you have yet to tell me."

"Um... oh yeah. Itachi- something... It sounded like Uchika or Uchiwa." He struggled to remember, searching through his memory for the last name the blonde had excitedly shouted at him. His name had been important, he said, but Sasori couldn't tell. He didn't much follow celebrities. Gaara sucked in a sharp breath.

"Itachi Uchiha?" He offered, Sasori hummed in acknowledgement.

"Yep, that's it. U-chi-ha." He pronounced every syllable as if to commit the name to memory, in case he forgot again. "You know him?"

"I know _of_ him," Gaara replied thoughtfully. "His younger brother goes to this school."

"Really?" Sasori didn't seem interested. "Well it kind of makes sense... Deidara is completely infatuated with him."

It was good to hear the red head talking like his normal self again. Though he was probably only doing it to preoccupy his mind with less weighty thoughts at the moment. He shouldn't dwell on it too much anyway, Gaara thought. He deserved some healthy, non-serious conversation. Just to take his mind off what happened. Gaara was about to comment on the previous statement, when the boy cut him off again.

"But, enough of that. How have you been, Gaara?" The Sabaku didn't know if he should lie or tell the truth.

"I'm... great."

"Liar."

Well, he tried.

"You sound different... distracted. Something on your mind?"

Just this once, Gaara decided to indulge himself and tell his friend what he was thinking and all that had been on his mind. It was safer to tell Sasori than Deidara anyway, at least the red head would take things maturely, something that couldn't be said about the eccentric blonde. But it wouldn't be easy; he had a hard enough time explaining it to his own mind.

"Yeah, actually, I wanted to know if I could talk to you about something." The other boy's snort was soft, but loud enough so that Gaara could hear it.

"Of course."

With a deep breath, Gaara retold the events that happened within the previous two days. Reluctantly he even told the other boy about the kiss that didn't actually disgust him that much - he learned this afterwards, however. With not-so-vivid details, and mumbled words, he finished, waiting silently while the male on the other line meditated on his words, finding a solution.

"So..." he began slowly."...you kissed a guy and you liked it?" Sasori sounded confused, Gaara tried not to laugh at the way he interpreted the situation.

"Not exactly."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I... don't know." He sounded defeated even to his own ears.

He wished he could answer the many questions racing around his head with simple answers, but nothing was ever simple. And nothing ever made sense either. It didn't make sense that his roommate was bold enough to kiss him on the first day they met. It didn't make sense that he was more startled, after the action had been performed, than angry, as most people probably - including Neji - perceived him to be. It didn't make sense that his roommate - again - was bold enough to make out with him, on the floor of their shared dorm room. What really didn't make sense was that he had enjoyed that encounter profoundly.

His world was toppled upside down at that moment and it seemed that only a wrecking crew, the size of Konoha, would be able to correct it again.

A sigh. "Gaara, you've never been completely heterosexual, have you?" When there was a long pause, Sasori grunted the negative and rephrased his question. "When was the last time you thought about a girl sexually?" Another painfully long pause.

Gaara started to mildly waver at the thought that he really didn't know. When had he ever been aroused (sexually) at the sight of a girl's body? Either his mind was too muddled and confused to remember, or it never happened. Not once. Even now, the thought of a girl, any girl, even the most beautiful, fair skinned, sexy woman he could think of, produced nothing. Not one reaction out of... _little Gaara._

On the other end of the phone line, Sasori huffed.

"So, I take it you can't remember?"

"Not at the moment." Gaara admit, defeated. Damn it, why did figuring out yourself have to be so hard?

"You're just a little bi-curious, is all." Gaara was thrilled he could say that so easily and with such a dull voice. He told the red head so. "Well, that's what it seems like to me." his voice was serious and Gaara knew he had to be right.

Maybe it was society, or the way he was raised - by his father, not his siblings - but the thought of being, if only a little, gay concerned him. He didn't panic about it and act as if the world was ending, but the situation was one he pondered on heavily.

He had no problems with homosexual people, his best friend was gay, his roommate as well, apparently (that or he was extremely friendly). He had little doubt that the people he associated with, their friends were gay as well. But being associated with a group and actually being placed within the minority were two completely different things. He had nothing against them, but he did not really want to become one of them. Did he? That little doubt, the pause in his mind was what he was worried about. If given the chance, would he go farther than just a kiss with the Hyuuga?

It was a thought he often entertained within his mind. His home school teacher had even taught him that, a long time ago, when samurai were still bountiful in Japan, the swordsmen practiced _Shudo_, in other words homosexual relations with one another. It was a sign of deep bonding, the elderly man had explained enthusiastically to the 14 year old red head. It was strange. Around that time was also when he developed a seemingly innocent attraction to one of the teacher's other pupils.

He would bring the boy around quite often, about two or three times a week. They would study their lessons together. Or at least they would try, when Gaara wasn't busy not paying attention, or getting scolded it at. It was fun, he remembered. When the lessons for that day ended, Gen Fu would often leave the two boys on their own, to chat about worldly things or play a board game or two. Gaara really enjoyed the others company.

Had his curiosity started then? He never acted upon it until recently, however. He would spend his quiet moments - ones that were supposed to be reserved for studying - daydreaming about the blonde, foreign child and wondering just how illicit a relationship between two male friends could get. Was it even possible? Sadly, he never found out. That year Gaara's father died and soon the family didn't have enough money to retain the pricey teacher, thus Gaara was sent to a public school, until strings were pulled to get him inside of Konoha Academy. He often wondered what happened to Gen Fu and the boy, the older male came to visit on occasion - still cursing the red head's lack of focus - but Gaara hadn't seen the blonde in almost two years. He was afraid to ask the old goat about him.

After hanging up with his best friend, wishing him good night and hoping that he felt better soon; Gaara had a lot to think about. What if he was only curious? He never thought of that option before... Perhaps this fleeting attraction to the Hyuuga was just that: _fleeting_, it caught the attention of his mind for a moment and his interest won't be fulfilled until he gauged what he could from the brunette. After that, after he learned all he could, then his curiosity will fade just as if there had been no morbid fascination with a relationship - sexual or otherwise - between him and another male, specifically Hyuuga Neji.

But then there was Elliot... That was the boy's name, his ex peer. He doubted that he even lived in Japan any more; he probably went back to England, his motherland. The boy was strange; he spoke with an accent, had blonde hair, but dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, a mirror of his teacher. It was amusing, to see someone so out of place, but completely comfortable in his surroundings. Gaara wished he could be like that sometimes. Perhaps that was the reason why he admired the other so much.

Perhaps it was the same with Neji.

Maybe he confused infatuation with admiration. Maybe he didn't want Neji at all, he just enjoyed being in his company. The Hyuuga was smart, eloquent, handsome, perceptive, witty...

Gods, he sounded like a raving fan girl. But what else could he have blamed it on?

* * *

Neji was stupid.

This was not some joke, conjured up in the vast mind that was Sabaku Gaara. It was a little known fact; the Hyuuga was a complete idiot. Figuratively, of course.

Gaara sighed again, eyeing the three very large textbooks Neji had - ever so politely - told him he had to read. He glanced at the clock.

"Neji, it's 4 'o clock. I quit." The brunette looked up at him.

"Huh?"

"I quit." the red head said sternly before crossing his arms across his chest.

"You can't quit." He frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose in a very nerd-like fashion. Gaara puffed out his cheeks.

"I believe I just did."

"Stop messing around and get back to work." The boy ordered, Gaara shook his head, lifting a brow in challenge.

They had been studying since twelve that afternoon.

"Are you tired, is that the problem?"

"It's four in the god damn morning, what do you think?" Gaara sneered.

Neji leaned over the library table as far as he could, only to shove back the book the red head tossed in his direction.

"We will continue to review, the test is tomorrow and I don't want Harrington-sensei to think I've been cutting you any slack." Sitting back down in his seat and adjusting the silver frames that rested on the bridge of his nose, Neji sighed. "Now could we please continue, we haven't reviewed grammar yet."

The boys had been allowed to use the library for study purposes at the request of the well-known Hyuuga, despite it being well past curfew. Gaara quickly learned that these were some of the perks you obtained, when you were one of the smartest students in the school that is. But, had the boy known that the brunette would have him studying until dawn, he would have turned down the offer. It didn't help that they had a third party this time.

"I refuse to open another book until I get some kind of rest. Tutor Lee, that is why he's here, right?" He motioned towards the boy currently sitting on the opposite end of him, next to the Hyuuga. Neji frowned again.

"The only reason why he is sitting here is because he and you have the same problem. I'm trying to make it easier by teaching you both at once."

"If it's so hard, why did you agree to tutor both of us at the same time?" Gaara challenged, narrowing his eyes at the brunette.

Neji sighed, dipping his head so that most of his hair shadowed his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose just under his glasses and took a deep breath. He wouldn't get upset. Dealing with the red head was more irritating than putting up with Naruto, but he wouldn't get angry at him for it. He had to be patient. Lee chuckled knowingly.

"It is refreshing to see you so energetic in the springtime of your youth, Neji-san." Neji threw a look over his shoulder at the boy.

"Shut up, Lee."

He chuckled again, this time louder.

"I am merely stating my perceptions," he offered, gesturing his hand vaguely.

Neji straightened, narrowing his eyes and turning towards his long time friend. Gaara observed with half interest.

"Then I suggest you get your eyes checked, Lee." Neji reopened the book he'd left forgotten at the table, Gaara and their previous quarrel put aside for the moment. He would get him back later...

Lee scoffed, waving off the suggestion with an animated hand. "Neji-san should watch his temper, it is most unbecoming of such a charismatic and youthful scholar!"

Gaara scoffed and leaned back in his chair so that it only rested on two legs, and stared up at the ceiling. How much longer would he have to put up with this? The Hyuuga had only been tutoring him for about a week and Gaara already had the urge to strangle the brunette. Though the same could probably be said about him as well, he wasn't exactly making it any easier on the pale eyed teen than was necessary.

"Lee, be quiet, this is a library." He heard Neji mutter distractedly.

"Oh?" The bushy browed teen inquired, turning a lifted - how the hell did he get them to move up that high? - brow towards the brunette. He looked around the room, eyeing the towering cases of books stacked all around the floors. There was a staircase at the far end of the room that led to a second story where there were - most likely - more books. Lee whistled loudly, despite being told to be quiet.

"Such a prodigious place of learning requires the proper respect! You are correct, Neji-san, I shall lower my voice to that of the most quiet of whispers. So low that you will have to stretch the prime and most youthful muscles of those brilliant ears of yours to understand each word that I utter." The last part was said in a whisper, not much lower than his regular voice.

"Please do." The red head seethed irritatedly. Temper. Lee was no longer an enemy, but sometimes, he had to admit, the boy did get on his nerves.

Lee nodded, "Now, are we ready to continue? Gaara-chan, will you join us in the pursuit of sharpening our otherwise dull minds, which will aid us in the journey of becoming greater, well rounded men?" This was said in that same, horrible, whisper-like voice. Gaara snorted.

"I already said I quit."

Neji placed down his book. At this rate, they were never going to get anything done. He removed his rarely needed glasses and massaged his eyes, sighing irritably in the process.

"You are still not up to par, there is no sleeping now." Neji said, looking over to the red head.

Vaguely Gaara wondered when the brunette became a dictator to his life. No one was allowed to boss him around, if anything those roles were reversed. He was the dictator, everyone else were his army, minions, whatever you wanted to call them.

Tutor or not, he wasn't going to let the Hyuuga tell him what to do. That statement made him so angry, red spots of frustration littered his cheeks. Lee didn't miss the change in atmosphere or the way the red head narrowed his eyes at Neji, something akin to deep loathing in his hard green eyes. He felt he had to say something, to lighten the mood.

He looked at Neji, he scowled back as well. Why can't everyone just be happy and get along, thought the eccentric boy. He had no problems with pushing a few more hours. Lee wondered why Gaara had an issue with doing it as well.

"It is only a few more hours, what harm will it do?"

Gaara broke his glare, only to turn it onto the bowl cut teen. "It's the principle of the matter."

Lee tilted his head in confusion. Gaara took a deep breath.

"I will not have him," he pointed at Neji without looking at the brunette. "...telling me what to do all the time. I will not tolerate being commanded by this overbearing tyrant."

Neji, despite his anger, looked offended. "Tyrant?" Gaara just gave a stiff nod, pinning him with a look that dared to him challenge his words.

"Gaara-chan should not allow people and their remarks to affect him so profoundly."

"I don't."

"Far be it for me to presume, but you seem to listen a lot to the things Neji-san has to say, despite your previous statement."

That statement made Gaara pause in mid thought. While he never thought himself to be above anyone else's standards, he also did not allow anyone - no matter who they were - take advantage of him. That included Hyuuga Neji. So, having realized that, what did Lee mean? he wondered. Did he let Neji affect him too much?

Of course he did, otherwise he wouldn't be so confused about his other predicament concerning the boy. It seemed as if he let the Hyuuga get under his skin far too much, far too often. Suddenly now it didn't seem like such a coincidence, like maybe - just maybe - Neji had been doing it with a purpose. Being the brilliant mind that he was, it wasn't hard to perceive. Layers upon layers, Neji Hyuuga was a marvelous strategist. That he hadn't seen this earlier surprised Gaara. Usually he would be able to spot a liar from a mile away. He hated liars.

Grabbing his books and his school bag, Gaara left the library. He was tired and if he didn't want to study anymore, then he didn't have to. To hell with what Neji said. He was his own person, he could do whatever he wanted to do, whenever he wanted. But right now, he just felt like sleeping. Slamming the door behind him, he headed towards his room, looking forward to greeting his bed.

Neji and Lee watched silently as the red head left the room. After he was gone, they glanced at each other indecisively. Lee's expression molded into a frown.

"What?" The Hyuuga defended innocently.

Lee's frowned deepened.

"I'll go apologize then." Standing from his seat, Neji gathered his things, just before he headed to the door, he looked back at his long time friend. "Just so you know, _I'm_ not the one in the wrong here." Then he left, closing the steel door more quietly than in had been before.

Lee just chuckled knowingly.

* * *

Gaara wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "I thought I told you not to do that." He glared, meaning to intimidate, his voice was still breathy and not convincing at all. Neji smiled.

"I couldn't help it." He shrugged. "You're really cute when you're angry."

Gaara's face darkened.

He had made it into the room only a few minutes before Neji walked in quietly behind him. He was on the verge of changing into his night clothes when the brunette caught him by the wrist and shoved him into the closest wall, pinning him with his lips. Gaara was surprised, but his anger quickly out weighed his initial shock, just enough to push the Hyuuga away.

"I don't appreciate you gaining pleasure out of my irritation." He said sternly, face still a few shades of pink.

Neji's mouth came as close to a pout as it possibly could, without actually being one. "Moh... Gaara, are you still angry with me...?" He whispered tauntingly, bringing his mouth closer to the red head's.

"What do you want from me, Neji?" Painstaken and terribly confused green eyes turned up to look curiously into very dull gray irises.

There were only so many times he could let this situation occur before he started to question the others motives. In truth he was still very confused at this point. Was the Hyuuga just using him for his own twisted reasons? If so, then he didn't want to participate in this game anymore.

"What do you want from me?" the brunette countered. Gaara huffed agitatedly and pushed the other fully away from him.

"Stop toying with me," turning away to unzip his shirt, Gaara didn't have the chance to see the look in the boy's eyes as he said,

"What makes you think I'm toying with you? How do you know I'm not serious?"

Gaara gave a good act by pretending he was thinking about the question. This was all some big game to the Hyuuga, he knew it, why would the male be interested in him? Besides obvious reasons, of course.

"The things you do, it seems, that you do them just to irritate or confuse me." Finally getting the zipper down, he threw the shirt to the side.

Neji nodded thoughtfully. After a moment he said, "I do."

The red head turned to gape at him incredulously. "And that's not toying with me how?" Neji's smiled into the other boys frowning face.

"Gaara, I'm being as straight forward with you as I possibly can be. This is how I've always been, you are the one who has been giving me mixed signals." He admit, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sending mixed signals? You can't understand the phrase 'don't touch me', and I'm the one-" He paused to calm himself. Temper. Don't lose your temper, he told himself silently. "You know, arguing with you is just a waste of time." He pulled a t-shirt over his head, turning his back on the Hyuuga. Neji looked surprised.

"Wow, Gaara, for someone who doesn't want to be touched, you certainly don't put up much of a fight when I kiss you."

Gaara's eyes widened some, but he remained facing the other way, not wanting his emotions to betray him.

"So that leaves one to think that it is you who cannot figure out what it is you want. It is you sending out the wrong signal. So, I'll ask again: What is it that you want from me, Sabaku Gaara?"

Neji's face appeared at his shoulder, those white, lipid eyes looking up at him. He didn't know how to feel in this situation, so he didn't allow himself to, lest he do or say something he would regret later.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Neji." He muttered, yawning, and pushed the elders head away with a not too gentle hand.

A flash of an emotion Gaara couldn't decipher shone in the Hyuuga's white eyes for a moment. The brunette smirked, leaning in towards the green-eyed boy.

"Oh..? Then what are you in the mood for?"

Gaara didn't like the way that sounded. He didn't like the breathy way the Hyuuga mumbled the words, or the sensual way he licked his lips after he spoke. He didn't like the way his heart hammered in his chest. He didn't like the way his stomach clenched at the mere proximity of the other boy, the smell of his soap, the light way his hair brushed the side of his face, tickling the skin there. Gaara felt the double crossing blood rush to his cheeks and fan out. All because of a stupid little statement. He scoffed inwardly. And the Hyuuga wondered why he was so confused…

"Hmm, Gaa-ra...?" He hummed, eyeing the paler boy's lips in fascination.

Somewhere in his sleep-deprived mind, Gaara managed to find words to speak. "...sleepy."

"What?" The brunette asked again, his concentration breaking from the Sabaku's lips to land on his heavily outlined and lidded eyes.

"I'm sleepy." He breathed, eyelids droopy. "I'm in the mood for sleep." He cleared, in case the Hyuuga hadn't gotten the message.

Clearly he hadn't seeing as he made no attempt to move and was still severely crowding the smaller boy's personal space. After a few moments of silence and calm, even breathing, Neji spoke.

"Alright, let's sleep.... together." He added, pushing on Gaara's chest as he tried to move, rendering him back into his position in front of him. The red head looked up at him, eyes wide.

"What?!?!"

Neji smiled wickedly. "I mean in the same bed.... Please?" he mock pouted when it looked as if the red head was going to say no.

Gaara entertained the thought in his head for barely a moment. "Why?"

"I don't feel like sleeping alone." The boy deadpanned, only half joking at this point.

Gaara refused to be treated, or even thought of as a teddy bear. Besides, cuddling was something that little kids did alone in their bed at night, while they sucked on their thumb and watched the shadows on the ceiling as they waited for their dreams to whist them away into sleep. Last time he checked, the Hyuuga wasn't some little kid. _It's just another of his little games_, thought Gaara decisively. He regarded the pale eyes warily, exhaustion sweeping over him in waves.

"No." He pushed the brunette over to his side of the room, onto his own bed before making his way to back to his inviting sheets. Maybe tomorrow, he'll be able to think things through correctly, intil then, he just needed sleep...

* * *

An unbidden and arbitrary thought occurred within the Sabaku as he washed his body underneath the scalding waterfall of water: Just what did he want out of the Hyuuga?

The past two weeks had gone by before he was even aware of it. That being said, he didn't know how to feel at all about the events that transpired within the first couple of days. He cared, but he didn't. He wasn't wracking his brain about the whole situation, but neither did he let himself forget about it either. The conversation with Sasori had helped - at the time - but the more he dwelt upon the topic, the less sense it made.

It was all very confusing. If the thought was so spontaneous and half humored, why did he still care? He didn't know _how_ he should feel about the Hyuuga.

Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed one of the towels of an adjacent ring and began to pat his hair dry. I had gotten longer. Usually Temari would drive him to the nearest barber in town at the slightest sign of growth, something he hated about his older sister. He wanted to let his hair grow out at least once in his life. He wondered if it would grow to be as long and soft as Neji's hair.

Shaking his head deftly, Gaara removed the soft blue towel from his hair and secured it around his waist. It probably took the Hyuuga years to grow it to that length and he doubted long hair would suit him anyway... Maybe he should give Temari - or Kankuro - a call this weekend. Just for a trim. He didn't want to be mistaken as a girl.

Not that the Hyuuga was feminine. No, you could tell he was a boy, from up close. His features were distinctly male, Gaara thought. He shook his head again. His thoughts wondered off in that direction a lot - too much -, he didn't know why. Every time he thought about the Hyuuga, he tried to forget about that kiss - damn he remembered again! - and think about something else. Except whenever his thoughts traveled over to the long-haired brunette, they always landed on his eyes or his hair. Fleeting... he wished. It was hard to not thing about the elder brunette.

_He does have really strange eyes. White irises..._

Moving over to his bed, Gaara flopped down and strained to see the clock on the opposite wall. It was almost 11 pm. Curfew would be in effect soon, Neji still wasn't there. He shrugged. The Hyuuga was probably still chatting with Rock Lee, not that Gaara cared. What the brunette did was his own business.

Gaara stifled a loud yawn, leaning back onto his bed. Mondays were always the worst; it seemed like the longest day of the week. His eyes drifted closed, despite his efforts to keep them open. He knew he would probably catch a fever for not dressing properly and falling asleep in only a towel, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Neji shouldn't have kept him up late last night studying _clauses _for English class today. The teacher didn't even show up, they even had a substitute!

Cursing the Hyuuga and his lack of a social life, the Sabaku fell into a light, dozing sleep.

* * *

A song that makes me feel all tingly inside:

_Ashita Genki Ni Naare_ by **Miyavi**

**.  
**

**Kyo** - Another filler chapter for waiting so patiently!!

**Gaara **-....

**Kyo** - Something on your mind, Gaa-chan?

**Gaara **- If I ask you, you'll only ignore the question in the most ridiculous way possible.

**Kyo **- Awweh, no I won't. Keep moving forward! Look you can even ask Jiraiya, he's got _all_ the answers! And he made out with a guy at AX!

**Jiraiya - **You promised you'd never tell....

**Gaara **- ...This isn't going to be a Mpreg, is it?

**Jiraiya **- Mmmm... Sexy time. _((drools))_

**Gaara **- _((turns back to Kyo))_ This is stupid, answer the question.

**Kyo **- Mmmm... Grimmjow's hole......... mmmm donuts. _((drools))_

**Gaara** - I give up. _((leaves))_

**Jiraiya **- _Scantily clad bishies_?! _Moral corruption_?! _Nosebleeds_?! I JUST SAVED A WHOLE LOT OF MUNNY BY SWITCHING TO GEICO?!


	6. Reality And Dreams

**Chapter 6: Reality and Dreams, They're Illusions**

It seemed as if he had been sleeping for only a few minutes before he felt a gentle tap on the bottom of his foot. Gaara twitched, creaking open a heavy green eye.

"You shouldn't fall asleep like that, you'll catch a cold." the Hyuuga's eyes looked luminescent - like a cats - in the dark. Gaara groaned and flung an arm over his face.

"I don't care."

Neji smiled into the darkness. "Gaara it's not wise to sleep in only a towel."

The red head snorted vaguely. "Why?"

"Think of my situation... think of my attraction towards you, then ask me that question again." he said patiently, still eyeing the boy's covered face, stealing a glance at his naked torso.

Gaara slid his arm away from his eyes and stared up into the darkened ceiling inquisitively.

"What?"

"You heard me." Neji laughed, leaning more over the smaller teenager's frame. "Gaara, you're such a tease." He omitted softly, brushing fingertips along the boy's side playfully.

The red head blushed so hard he thought the brunette could see the heat in his cheeks through the dim light wiggling at the soft touch of the other male. "I-I am not!" Smiling, Neji climbed onto the bed more, Gaara's heartbeat grew erratic.

Why was he reacting like this? A curious thought was not something his body should be jumping at. He felt the pull of whatever drew him to the Hyuuga. It tugged hard at, well, a part of him he couldn't mention out loud.

"Gaara, you are so unaware if it... it's actually kind of cute," The Sabaku said nothing, just blushed more in indignation. He didn't know if he was more angry or humiliated. He didn't have a chance to decide before the pale eyed teenager moved again, climbing on to his bed more, on top of him.

Resting a leg between both of Gaara's outstretched limbs, Neji straddled the red head, grabbing each hand in his and bringing them to rest just above his head. Gaara looked up at him in curious fear. He smiled. The suggestiveness of the position brought a thin sheen of sweat to Gaara's brow.

"N-Neji...?" Gaara whispered, looking up at the Hyuuga as he trapped both his arms above his head. Grabbing both wrists with his right hand, the brunette brought his left hand down to caress Gaara's pale torso. The red head writhed when a dusty pink nipple was grazed by the elder boy's thumb. He bit his lip, _This can't be happening again..._

"Gaara, you don't have to be afraid. Just let go." he smiled down at the boy who praised him with a resigned stare. Gaara struggled half-heartedly.

"I'm not afraid." He grit his teeth as the hand went lower. Neji paused suddenly, looking into green eyes with a lifted brow.

"No?" At the stiff shake of the Sabaku's head, the Hyuuga snorted. "Really?" Gaara nodded again hesitantly, mind running amuck within his skull.

Why was he doing this? Hadn't he been trying to avoid any contact with the Hyuuga? He was actually goading the brunette on this time because... well... admittedly, his curiosity got the better of him. All of his thoughts for the past two weeks - centered specifically on the brunette above him - got to his mind. He dared to ask for more, but was afraid of what that indicated. His emotions conflicted within his mind, making him unsure, but frighteningly focused. He had a lot of time to think - perhaps too much time - about his exact emotions towards the brunette. He still wasn't completely certain what they were, but that didn't meant he couldn't experiment a little.

So he hadn't been completely secure in his sexuality, as Sasori pointed out - the Hyuuga had been right as well - he didn't like to admit his faults.

"Maa..." Neji mock pouted. "There you go teasing me again. I can never tell when your serious or not, _Gaara_." Something in the other boy's eyes caused a shiver to run down Gaara's spine. The way the brunette said his name... it _dripped_ with an emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on...

Neji moved his hand lower, over the slight lump in the red head's navy blue towel; Gaara gasped when the limb pressed down slightly.

"It's always pins and needles with you, _Gaara_. I don't know what's right and what's wrong. You keep me guessing. Most of the time I have no clue how you'll react."

"But you do it anyway." the boy found the words to respond, breathlessly. His hips shifted up slightly as he willed them to stay put. Neji smiled softly, drawing gentle circles around Gaara's stiffening member, watching the red heads face.

"Of course." he said as-a-matter-of-factly, putting more pressure on the weakening boy beneath him.

"Why?" the voice was soft, Neji almost didn't hear it. He looked away from his eyes, down at his lips attentively, squeezing at the flesh between Gaara's legs. As the Sabaku gave out a low, sultry moan, Neji bit his lip, chewing it indecisively, frowning.

After some time, when Gaara's breathing went back to normal, he answered,

"You help me forget." This time he molded the flesh in his hand, the member stiffening in his palm. He watched the red head's face with intrigued fascination.

"Is that all I a-a-am, a.... something to keep you... unn... pre-preoccupied?" Gaara panted, hips moving involuntarily again. He knew he should have fought back, lashed out, done _something_. But he couldn't find the strength to tear himself away at that moment. What the Hyuuga was doing to his body - with a grace so casual it almost looked practiced - made him want to stay and experience more.

"Mmmhmm," the brunette mumbled, sliding his hand over the covered erection once more, smirking softly at the noises the red head unmistakably omitted from his slightly parted, perfect lips. Gaara mewled, though he kept the sound low, mind still trying to process their conversation.

"F-From what?"

Neji made a 'tsk' sound, releasing the hands of the boy beneath him. Gaara stared at him in confusion before Neji frowned, removing the towel that covered the red head.

"W-What are you doing?!" The red head screamed in panic, moving his now free hands to cover himself and his exposed erection. Neji said nothing, only tilted his head in thought as he gazed down at the boy, brushing away the stubborn hands from the other's midsection.

The Hyuuga stared at his body with scrutinizing eyes. Gaara felt suddenly, horribly exposed. Blushing furiously in modesty, he put both hands on the others shoulder to push him away; he had enough for tonight. His curiosity was momentarily sated, but, again, the Hyuuga didn't move. Gaara swore, it was like trying to move a brick wall. Another fleeting thought passed; he wished he participated more during P.E.

Impulsively, the brunette dipped his head down to rest his lips in the cove of Gaara's shoulder and neck. His brown head stayed there for a moment, Gaara remained still, heartbeat plateauing at its current speed of one million beats per minute. He flinched only a little, when soft, warm lips landed on the side of his neck.

Neji moved closer, sliding up from the red heads throat to nuzzle his cheek softly, littering it with feathery kisses that Gaara seemed to lean into. The Hyuuga's lips moved closer, finally stopping at the left side of Gaara's lips. He leaned his head to the other side and pushed their lips together. Neji nipped at Gaara's bottom lip, requesting entrance; albeit slowly and a little hesitantly it was accepted. Neji's tongue moved forward and into Gaara's mouth and was met by the other's warm, pink muscle. Gaara's fingertips dug into the Hyuuga's shoulders as they kissed, his head tilted at an angle some and leaning forward, legs spread slightly to accommodate Neji's.

The heat from the Hyuuga's mouth traveled all the way down the Sabaku's spine and into his stomach, moving lower still. The flesh between his legs gave a painful throb. Moaning into the kiss, Gaara pulled the Hyuuga closer; he couldn't remember being this aroused before. The brunette awoke something within the young teen and - though he hated to admit - Gaara liked it. A lot. He wanted more.

"Have you ever had sex, Gaara?" The question was muffled through Gaara's lust hazed mind and their on-going kiss. It took him a while to register what was asked of him.

Pale green eyes flew open in alarm.

"...What...?!"

"With a girl, I mean." Neji clarified, speaking against kiss swolen, pouty lips. Gaara huffed indignantly and turned his head to the side, removing those soft, tantalizing lips from his own, the full length of his pale neck exposed to the Hyuuga.

"Stop asking me weird questions!" Considerably, his blush deepened. Neji smiled.

Bending down to nip at the expanse of flesh, the brunette asked, "What's so weird about it? It's a perfectly logical, harmless question."

"Harmless my ass." Neji thought he heard the boy mumble.

The Hyuuga waited a few moments, before asking again.

"Well... have you?" He was curious.

Resigning himself to stare at the wall, Gaara didn't bother to answer the question. The resounding blush on his face, however, was more than enough of a reply for the Hyuuga.

Neji narrowed his eyes and shuffled closer to the red head. He peered carefully at Gaara's flushed - some from embarrassment, some from arousal - sideways face before stating:

"You haven't have you?"

The red head turned his face back towards Neji, but kept his eyes focused elsewhere. He looked as if he struggled to find the words with which to reply to the Hyuuga's softly spoken question.

"I don't do... things like this..." his face was scrunched into a frown, he looked uncomfortable. "...often."

"Your almost 17, Gaara, It's normal for young men to experiment." Neji said sternly, white eyes ever watchful. Gaara groaned, remembering the exact same conversation he had with Kankuro just the year before.

The red head didn't know exactly how to handle this situation, his sister and brother never really had the capacity to sit him down and have the timeless discussion about 'the birds and the bees'. Honestly he thought himself better off because, hopefully, he would never have the need to bring up that topic of discussion with his elder siblings. But, as one would have it, he quickly regretted their avertedness to anything involving sex and his association with it, because he really wish he knew what to do, what to say, what to think right now.

It was better to have the information and not need it, than need it and not have it, as he was quickly learning. But, decidedly, he would save face and put up his best front.

"Experiment with girls maybe, but not with other guys."

Thin chesnut brown eyebrows drew down in offense. Neji narrowed his eyes at the younger teen. "Says who?"

"Everyone," the red head sighed distractedly.

"Hmm," the brunette pondered the others words. Maybe to the ignorant mind, that was what _everyone_ said. "Well, me and you are going to prove what everyone says wrong, and do a little experimenting. Ok?"

Gaara's brain died. It fell out of his ear, rolled off the bed, landed on the floor, turned over, coughed up blood and died. It had to, because he did not just hear what he thought he heard come out of the mouth of the boy above him. He shivered, realizing he was very cold and still very naked.

"I-I beg your pardon?" he asked uncertainly, confused, if you will.

With a face so red, it blended in with his hair, Gaara watched the Hyuuga smile wickedly, something mischievous dancing around in those white eyes of his. He leaned down to kiss the Sabaku on the lips, stalling to savor the taste a bit. Slowly pushing his tongue past stubborn pink lips to reach the organ on the other side.

As both of their mouths were busy exploring eachother, Neji took the time to allow his hands to roam as well. First over dusty pink nipples, that tightened at the slightest touch, sending their owner into gasping moans as he pinched them with his thumbs and index fingers. Leaving the red head's mouth for just a moment, he tilted his head down to taste the hardened buds, drawing them slowly into his mouth, rolling them along his teeth with his tongue. Gaara arched against the male on top of him mewling and releasing little breathy gasps as the Hyuuga continued his torment.

So this was what it was like to go farther... but how many boundaries would he allow to be broken? Gaara wondered absently. He promised himself he would never give in, but the Hyuuga came and tossed all of his reserves out of the window. It wouldn't be long, he bet, till the boy had him begging and writhing beneath him. And as erotic as that sounded to his ears, he was still afraid to let that happen. Mostly because he had yet to know how the Hyuuga truly felt about him. He didn't want anything to go too far and end up regretting everything in the end. He didn't want to be the only one caught up in this... _thing_ that was going on between the two of them.

Neji licked his belly button, causing Gaara to shiver and wriggle compulsively. He was ticklish there, which was one of the main reasons Deidara poked him constantly, complaining he didn't smile enough. Gaara brought his random thougts to rest as the brunette traveled lower, to the place that would have been covered by a towel, had the Hyuuga not tossed it heedlessly to the floor. Lifting his eyes up to hooded green, Neji smirked and blew on the head of the boy's member, watching Gaara's reaction.

Gaara fought the urge to cry out. They had to be quiet. It was a school they were in, not one of their bedrooms, unfortunately. But, even then, even in the saftey of either his own or the Hyuuga's own home, in either one's bed there was still the threat of nosy family members. Gaara didn't know about Neji's family, but Temari wasn't known for leaving people to their privacy for long.

Hence his previous abstinance.

The brunette stopped suddenly, lifting up to remove his shirt, button by button, and unzipped his pants. Gaara watched in fascination. The Hyuuga wasn't much bigger than he was... the muscles in his stomach and chest were more defined and his thighs were only a little thicker than Gaara's own, despite the fact that they were about the same height. He found it intriguing that he never noticed these facts before now. What was even more interesting to see was the male stripping off his clothing; there was a tatto on the pale - again, only sligltyl darked than Gaara himself - boy's hip. What it was, the red head couldn't make out in the dark, but it was roughly the size of a golf ball and maybe red in color, but he couldn't tell.

When the Sabaku dared to look up again, the genious was now in his briefs, the lump in his pants straining proudly against the material. Gaara felt his mouth go dry. Patiently, he waited for the Hyuuga to continue, fidgiting a little. The waiting was torture. Neji ran his right hand fleetingly over his own crotch before moving it to Gaara's, taking his length in a firm, but lose grip and stroked it languidly. Fisting the sheets, Gaara groaned, eyes rolling to greet the back of his skull.

Gods, was he sure he was ready for this? Experimenting like this, he's never even done it on himself. Now, to willingly give the opportunity to another person... he was afraid, but willing. More than willing if the rest felt remotely like what the Hyuuga had just done to him.

Panting, he lifted hooded eyes to pale irises, that seemed to be smiling down at him. Gaara moaned again, struggling to keep quiet, but losing that resolve rather quickly as the hand on his sex squeezed tighter as it slid up his length once more.

Neji smiled softly to himself while watching the red head. He was just too innocent, it felt so surreal. Stroking the boys member again, this time faster, he looked on as the pale, gorgeous face twisted in pleasure. It felt good to know that he was the first one to do such things to the red head. To finanlly get this reaction out of the Sabaku was promising; absently he wondered what else the younger would allow him to do...

Gaara moaned again, louder. It was hard keeping the sounds that were coming out of his mouth in check, not with the Hyuuga working his hand up and down his length, creating such a wonderful friction. Neji bit his lip as he watched the red head writhe and moan incohearantly to himself. He did not realise when, but his left hand moved to palm over his own growing erection, he felt the small patch of wetness that coated the soft material, his precum staining his underwear.

Stopping his hand, he moved swiftly to bring the red head up into a sitting position. Gaara made a noise of surprise before opening his eyes and looking around in bafflement. Sea foam green locked onto pearl white and Neji smirked into the younger boy's face kissing him deftly on the lips before pulling away and grabbing one of the hands that was previouly grasping the bedsheets. Slowly he slid the other's palm down his own torso, to rest softly on the bulge in his shorts. Gaara gasped, tensing slightly.

A muffled sound, that would be later recognised as Neji's voice made itself known to Gaara's ears. He strained to listed to the long haired teen, all the while staring at the hand placed haphazardly onto the other boy's crotch.

"Don't just stare at it, Gaara..." He sounded amused.

Gaara wanted to tell him to shut up for that stupid comment. He lifted his head to speak, but all that was able to come out was, "Huh?"

Neji chuckled softly, covering the boys hand with his own. Slowly, he helped the red head understand what he meant. Gaara's eyes widened and his face deepened to a darker shade of maroon.

Neji moaned, placing Gaara's legs over each of his thighs, so that both would have better acssess to one another. As the red head continued, rather hesitantly, on his own, Neji leaned in closer for another kiss, this time the Sabaku meeting him half way. The other boy's tongue fought with his, sliding together in a wet slippery dance that Neji felt all the way to his toes, though that part of his body had nothing to do with what the two were doing at that moment. He expected the red head to gain potential, but he hadn't imagined he would be this good of a kisser!

Silently the Hyuuga aplauded. He taught the boy well.

With their kiss, Gaara gained new confidence. Taking the Hyuuga's pause on his own member as an opportunity, he slid his hands into the older male's brief, fishing out the stiff member that was held inside. The feel of it surprised him at first, it was rigid, but soft to the touch and so warm it felt as if it would burn his skin if he held it too long. Not really knowing what to do at this point, after being so bold, Gaara made it up as he went along, squeezing the stiff member in his hands and giving a slight tug on the skin.

Neji jumped slightly in shock, looking down at his now exposed sex that rested fully into the Sabaku's hand. He groaned when the red head's hand tightened around him and tugged, returning the action. Their mutual moans intermingled for a short second before both were urged to continue, simultaneously stroking eachother, building the heat pooling within both of their stomachs.

Gaara was confused at first, sweat blinding his vision some as his hair stuck to his forhead, sweeping in front of his eyes. He knew something was going to happen, something amazing, but had no idea what. He never considered himself to be an avid masterbator. Besides this little act, Gaara rarely even thought about sex, unless it was in the form of reproduction. Even then that was during a sexual education class at one of the public schools he attended in Suna, after retireing from home school.

The feeling in his gut grew, however and he tensed, just as the Hyuuga sped up his hand, stroking him in short, fluid gestures. Suddenly he saw stars and felt a pleasure so intense he thought he might pass out because of it. He heard himself moan, loudly, and felt lips on his to stifle the sound some, lest someone overhear and become alarmed... They did not need a half asleep student - or worse dormitory director - knocking on thier door at midnight and inquiring about loud noises and/or moans.

Neji caught the other's cry of pleasure within his own, releasing only moments after Gaara himself. Seeing the younger boy shatter, sent him over the edge as well. Breathing heavily he watched the pale, sweaty face, brushing back crimson locks in order to see the hazy eyes beneath. Gaara opened his eyes slowly, moving his hand away from the other boys wilting member, noticing the substance coating his fingers. It was warm, but quickly cooling, and becoming sticky. The Sabaku suddenly felt very dirty. But it was the kind of dirt that left him exausted and pleasently sated. He looked over at the Hyuuga, who watched his fingers. Neji had yet to speak, he noticed, the passion of their experiment dieing down and embarrassment rolling forward again, coloring his cheeks.

Distractedly, Neji stood up and disappeared into the bathroom that connected to their room. A moment later he returned with a wet wash towel. Gaara watched, as if in a daze, as the Hyuuga cleaned off both of their hands and the messes on their stomachs. He hadn't realised how much there was and was surprised when the wet cloth shifted over his now flaccid member. It was so cold; he giggled at the foreign feeling, causing the Hyuuga to pause his ministrations. Neji looked up at him with a questioning look.

"I's cold," was all he said. Neji smiled, tossing the wash cloth onto Gaara's previously abandodned towel. Leaning forward, he grabbed both sides of the red head's face and gave him a deep, lingering kiss.

Gaara allowed it, baiting the blush that threatened at the surface of his skin to litter his cheeks. Falling back onto his bed, Neji finally released him, sighing contentedly.

"I told you you were a tease, _Gaara_."

* * *

"I swear to kami, Hyuuga Neji, If you do not move, I will kill you."

Neji opened an uninterested eye.

"Go ahead."

Gaara fumed. He'd never been this mad since the day Gen Fu emptied his tobacco pipe ashes into his brand new hourglass, mistaking it for an ashtray. Neji was really trying his best to irritate him, and he had to admit, it was working! The bastard kept a calm face, even when hit full throttle with the Sabaku death glare. No one survived that, it had even served to send his older brother, Kankuro cowering in fear. The only person it hadn't worked with was Temari...

"Stare at me all you like. That charm of yours won't help you any either." He retorted, almost sarcastically, pinching Gaara's cheek, giving it a quick tug.

Gaara growled down at the teen before slapping his hand away. "Why do you have to be so irritating?"

"I'm irritating you, am I?" leaning in closer, Neji smiled devilishly. "I thought I was being helpful." Gaara rolled his eyes slowly, turning his head away before he said,

"No, just anoying."

"Neji!" Shouted a loud and familiar voice.

Neji swallowed the words he was going to spit back at the Sabaku and slowly turnied his attention away from Gaara. Behind him the blonde was quickly making his way towards the two seated in the courtyard of the school. He eyed their new visitor warily.

"What is it Naruto?" he asked curtly, not sure why he was so upset all of a sudden. Gaara watched the two curiously out of the corner of his eye.

"I need to talk to you about something." said the blonde, out of breath and with a worried look in his eyes.

"Why?"

A slight roll of the eyes, a common gesticulation on Naruto's part. "Come on, Neji. Just five minutes."

Neji smiled humorlessly and shook his head. "I'm kind of busy right now," he gestured at Gaara, holding his textbook closely to his face, which mirrored the opposite. "Maybe later?"

"But Neji..." Naruto whined, grabbing Nej's hands within his own in a pleading gesture. "I need your help! The relationship between me and my best friend is on the line here." He pouted and batted long lashes in melodramatic woe towards the Hyuuga, who sighed and twitched an eyebrow in response.

"Go apologise." Whatever it was, surely that would be the solution. Easier said than done, however, considering both boys were of the thick headed, stubborn type.

Apparently that wasn't the answer Naruto was looking for because the blond immediately dropped the boy's hands from his grasp. Blue eyes narrowed behind slightly tanned lids.

"I already did that, he still won't talk to me."

"Why not."

Naruto stole a glance at Gaara, who obviously got bored of the conversation, returning to his book, turned away from the two. He glared at Neji. "I would rather tell you in private." he sounded despirate, Neji chose to ignore it.

"Later." He waved the blonde off with a whimsical hand, turning back to annoy Gaara some more.

Naruto paused for amoment then shruged dejectedly and walked away. Upon hearing the retreating footsteps of the boy, Neji turned and watch the blonde disappear into the cafeteria bulding that connected the female and the male dormitory. He sighed listlessly before twisting his head back around, only to come face to face with a pair of bright green eyes.

"You and Naruto don't get along, do you?" he heard the boy say. It was more of a statement than a question.

"What makes you say that?" Genuinly curious, Neji tilted his head to the side and studied the red head.

"The way you two fight and argue all the time."

Neji laughed. "I argue with you." he pointed out. "And we still seem to get along." Gaara's face flushed with color.

"I don't mean like that. I mean seriously. The two of you in class, you always seem to be at each other's throats." Neji nodded at the boys words. He was right. "Why didn't you hear him out?" Gaara said, turning his eyes away from the Hyuuga and back onto the section in his book, one he had to read by the end of the week. He hated physics.

Neji paused to think about the question. He didn't want to say it was because he was afraid. And it wasn't because he was too petty to help out a friend/enemy when they were in need. In fact, he would do anything for Naruto, and that irritated him. He didn't want to stop what he was doing just to cater to the blonde's needs. He wasn't a nanny.

"I just didn't feel like being bothered is all." He admitted, which was half true. Whatever drama in the Uzumaki's life could be held off for a moment or two. Besides, he had other friends to confide in. Lee wasn't busy doing anything.

Why did it always have to be him?

Gaara nodded, but his eyed told the Hyuuga he didn't really believe him.

"And you think I feel like being bothered with you?" This was said with as little malice as possible, but Neji caught the hint of agitation in Gaara's voice.

"What, you're saying you don't want me around? As your tutor, I have to supervise your studying."

"Yet all you've been doing all afternoon is hang all over me and goof off." Neji was surprised at the look in the Sabaku's eyes. Was he judging him? "And here I thought I was suppose to be the slacker, Mr. Genius." Neji chose to ignore the sarcasm in that statement and narrowed his eyes at the red head for accusing him of slacking off.

"So you think I've been too lieniant towards you?"

"I'm saying you've been neglectful in your duties." said the red head with a straight face.

Neji knew he was being baited but caved into the trap anyway. "Really?"

"Yes." Gaara admit, closing his book. "What's wrong with you?"

Neji blinked. Weren't they just joking? "What do you mean."

"You're wierder than normal; you don't try to jump me every chance you get. You space out more often too. Should I be alarmed?" Neji smiled, flattered for the concern.

"Wow, Gaara, I didn't know you cared so much. Or paid such close attention to detail. Now if we can only get you to focus on your work so intently, maybe we can get somewhere." said Neji, placing a finger at his cheek. Intentionally he avioded the other's question, not really ready to answer them all at once. Gaara's sea green eyes narrowed.

"I'm gonna ignore that last part, but I will say this. I'm no idiot when it comes to friends and their problems." He supposed he had Sasori to thank for that. Befriending someone as stoic and emotionless as him, he had to know how to read between the lines.

Neji was touched at the latter omission, "You consider me a friend? Even after..." he pressed. genuinly curious. Gaara took his time to reply.

"Though I am unsure of where we stand at this point, there is no denying some type of relationship between us. Especially after... that." he blushed, looking away.

The brunette didn't know how to respond to that. He did not know how to percieve the statement. Relationship? Was that what they were doing? He didn't know anymore, everything was too confusuing to think on for too long. He humored the thought for a while before shrugging. As long as things didn't get serious, he was ok with whatever the red head had in mind. But, unbeknowest to him, it was far too late.

Gaara watched the Hyuuga out of the corner of his eye. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. He was in deep shit.

* * *

The weeks following the event that transpired between Neji and Gaara proved to pull the two males closer together. Gaara seemed to want to be around the brunette and Neji, of course, allowed him near. It was all very amusing to Neji. He noticed the way the red head would still argue with him during their study sessions, but his comments were fewer and didn't hold as much venom as before. Gaara even allowed the Hyuuga to kiss him, randomly. Sometimes he even responeded to the kisses. But nothing ever went farther than a few lingering kisses and groping touches.

Neji didn't want anything to go too far. Things had already gotten pretty far on that night and in truth, he really didn't expect that to happen. It was really a spur of the moment idea that he got caught up in. A little too caught up.

He liked Gaara, but he wasn't ready to take their relationship somewhere he really didn't want it to go. He was already afraid that the red head had the wrong idea. No. Now, because of what they did that night, he was certain of it. He found the boy attractive and sought comfort in that and ended up corrupting the younger male, though he seemed to not have minded at all.

Looking down at his math book, he frowned. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. At first he thought to just toy with the Sabaku, confuse him a little. And that he had succeeded at doing, but then he had to push further. He had to make out with the boy. Even worse, he had get the boy to consent to a mutual masterbation session. Stupid.

And everyone thought he was this great _genius_, pfft.

He couldn't believe himself. What had started off as a simple game of cat and mouse turned into something more, something he wasn't sure he was ready to handle. Neji stared at the characters in his textbook, watching as they became more distract by the second. He often did that when left alone to think. And his mind wouldn't shut up about one particular subject: Gaara.

What did he feel about the red head? Was this feeling deeper than the on he had when he initiated this twisted courtship of sorts? Could he even call it a courtship? Did he wan't Gaara as his lover?

Yes.

That was one qestion he could answer fairly quickly. But, and he knew, he was thinking with the wrong part of his anatomy whenever he answered that question. So there inlay his delima. What to do about the feisty red head that he can't seem to keep his hands off of? Even he didn't know the answer to that question and he wanted it answered before he was pulled deeper within this twisted story of romancing and betrayal.

Suddenly Neji snapped out of his momentary haze, looking up into the trees that surrounded him, their leaves swaying with the light breeze. He was forgetting, slowly but surely, but he worried he was allowing himself to become distracted for the wrong reasons and with the wrong person. But then, a part of him didn't care, the same part that told him it was right to seduce a supposedly straight male into commiting lewd acts with himself. He cursed that part of himself. He cursed it to hell and back, along with the part of his mind that told him he deserved the reprieval.

But, somewhere inside of him, Neji knew that this was the best thing for him at the moment. The situation worked highly in his favor and he told himself that was the only reason why he was letting it continue. What him and Gaara had included no emotions, it was just... physical. He thought it safe to assume the same for the red head as well. If the attraction towards one another stayed at that level then, maybe Neji could allow himself to be content, until either of them got bored, which will happen eventually; of that he was sure. He didn't favor empty relationships of the long term category and he doubted Gaara would allow himself to be used, for any purpose.

'But isn't that what you didn that night? You used him for your own selfish reasons.' his mind scolded. Neji beat back the truth, closing his eyes in concentration.

He didn't use Gaara.

He wouldn't allow himself to believe that. He would not dare to stoop so low. That kind of behavior was beneath him, he frowned upon it heavily. What they shared was mutual. Gaara allowed the act to happen, for whatever his reasons may be and gained pleasure from it as well. He wasn't being used.

But in the back of Neji's mind, he knew better.

* * *

A song that sticks in my head:  
_Blood_ by **NANA **_**(Mika Nakashima)**_

**_._**

**Naruto **- What the hell is going on here?

**Kyo **- Keep moving forward, Naruto.

**Naruto **- You just like to see me suffer, don't you?

**Kyo **- What do you mean? I luffles you Naru-kun!

**Naruto **- Then why is everyone so mean to me?

**Kyo **- ... cuz you're awesome?

**Naruto **- ..... Yeah. They are just jealous of the awesome awesomness of my awesomeness! You know why? Cause I'm just that awesome.

**Kyo **-_ -is blinded by The Awesomeness-_ x.x

**Naruto **- Now look forward to more awesomeness and be prepared with your helmet cuz what's about to happen will blow your freaking mind!


	7. Not This Time

**Chapter VII: Not This Time, I Won't Lie To Keep You Near Me**

"You're not goin' home right now, are you?" Naruto asked, stopping in the middle of the doorway to watch the brunette slip on his shoes. He was a little nervous, but the sake he'd been drinking previously helped him overcome that. Though he would have apprechiated to be a little more focused.

He shook his head to clear it. Neji made an indefinite sound as he bent down to tie his laces.

Neji didn't know why, but - after much haggaling and pleading - he gave into the blonde's request to come to his 17th birthday party. In truth he had not expected so many people to show up at the Uzumaki's house that night. Who knew the blonde had so many friends? There were students who attended the school there, along with a few faces he didn't recognise. It had been fun, but now he was more than ready to go home and crawl into bed.

Not looking at the boy, he stood and fished into his pocket searching for his phone, "I was just going to call my uncle to pick me up." said the Hyuuga finally, stopping to flip open the cellular device.

"What happened to your car?" the blonde asked, a golden eyebrow lifted in curiosity.

"When I told my uncle I was coming to your party, he confiscated my keys. He said, 'Knowing Jiraiya-san, there will be alcohol there and I don't want you driving under the influence.'" said the brunette, mimicking his's uncles words. "He told me when I was ready, to call and he'll come get me." Neji turned to look at the blonde leaning on the kitchen door frame. "Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "Ehh... I just wanted to talk." he sighed.

Though he hadn't touched the stuff, Naruto had been drinking that night, Neji noticed. His face was red and eyes at half mast, almost as if he was about to pass out. Naruto's gardian, Jiraiya - not one of the dilinquent children - opened up a brand new bottle of sake, reserved just for Naruto, for his birthday. The blonde had gone after the bottle with the grace and vigor of an aged pro, causing Neji to feel concern for the teen's liver and remaining brain cells. Naruto wavered some on his feet, but stood upright with little ease.

The Hyuuga lifted an eyebrow at the boy.

"You know, seein' as this is later, and you're not _busy_ with anythin'." his words were only slightly slurred. Neji worried how much of the alcohol the boy had actually consumed.

"You want to talk to me? Right now?" He pointed towards himself as disbelieving look in his pale eyes. Naruto scoffed in irritation.

"Of course you, not like I got anyone else t' talk to..." Looking around, he noticed the lack of company in his and his foster father's small apartment. Everyone had shuffled their way home, sending him last good-byes and birthday wishes before he chose to stop the Hyuuga. Looking up at the clock over the mantle in the living room, he saw why, it was past 3 o' clock.

Neji rolled his eyes and closed his phone, silently agreeing to divulge the blonde. "I've been meaning to ask..." he said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where is Kiba? He did know about the party, right?" Naruto averted his vision down to the floor, glaring at it angrily.

That had been what he wanted to talk to the Hyuuga about.

"Yeah..."

"What happened, how come he didn't show? His mother wouldn't intentionally make him miss-"

"He didn't come 'cause he didn't want to." He cut the brunette off before he could finish the statement. Still looking at the floor, he felt the Hyuuga's white glare intensify.

"Why?" Neji asked. The two were the best of friends, he couldn't comprehend why the Inuzuka would even want to miss Naruto's birthday.

"'Cause of what happened between us." Naruto was begining to become fidgity; he pulled at the lobe of his ear absently, Neji noticed this as the tell tale signs that the boy had done something wrong. He waited patiently for the other to continue.

When several moments of silence went on, Neji sighed impatiently and asked, "What happened?" It was Naruto's turn to sigh, rolling his eyes deftly in the process.

"I tried to tell you the other day, but you were too 'busy' to listen."

In all honesty, he didn't really know why he wanted to tell Neji anything. It wasn't like they were on good terms anyway. He needed some kind of comfort from someone who was remotely a friend. It hurt that he couldn't talk to Kiba, that the brunette wouldn't even spare him a passing glance. He was sorry before, but he didn't know how depressed he would be about it until now. Unfortunatly he wasn't able to find the solace at the bottom of the bottle of sake Jiraiya had so enthusiastically placed in front of him. He sighed his lack of restraint, but savored the gentle warmth the drink provided and excape from his personal troubles. He would regret it in the morning, he was sure. Or whenever he woke up, for that matter.

Looking up at the Hyuuga near his front door, the sounds of Jiraiya's loud snores at his back, he noticed the light twitch of the older teen's eyebrows. Supressing a smirk, he stared back defiantly.

Neji was getting tired of this stubborn attitude. He wanted to go home and go to bed, not stand here and have this conversation with the Uzumaki. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting. Naruto continued to glare. Sighing, Neji ran an hand through his hair and moved over to the couch. Folding his hands in his lap, he leaned back in the cushions and said, "I'm listening now."

"Are you?" Naruto's eyes narrowed at the brunette. Neji huffed and reached for his phone again.

"I don't have time for this." He said angrily, shaking his head and searching for his uncle's phone number in his contacts.

"Fine..." Naruto crossed over and reached for the phone, snapping it shut in his hand. Neji threw him an dirty look before sighing again, only this time in irritation. Naruto returned the look with one of his own. "If I tell you, Neji, you have to promise never to tell anyone else. Ever. Not even Lee. Or Gaara. Do you even talk to Gaara?" Neji nodded in a bored fashion, pretending not to listen to what the Uzumaki had to say. He focused his eyes forward, on a rather lewd picture of a half naked woman that adorned the oposite wall. Naruto grunted, "Well dont tell him either."

"Ok." said the Hyuuga impatiently, now curious as to what the blonde had to tell him.

Naruto took several calming breaths, wishing to clear his head of the persistent fogginess that the drink had him under. It was a mircle he hadn't passed out already. Luckly for him, the effects of the alchoholic drink seemed to be wearing off, but he did feel the pressing sensations of a headache that pulsed in the back of his head.

"Well..." he began slowly, unintentionally building suspense. He wanted to remember all the words Kiba told him. Fat chance. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get drunk before he did this. Neji drummed his fingernails on his knee, impatiently waiting to hear what needed to be said. "Kiba told me... he was... gay." He looked up at Neji, who was paying full attention now, with an unreadable expression on his face. "And that him and Shino were... together. That's why he didn't want to share a room with me..."

Neji let the words sink in before whispering, "Are you serious...?" Naruto nodded stiffly, face serious.

Kiba gay? The thought, to Neji, was as inpercievable as walking on the sun. It just wasn't possible. No, it was possible, just not probbable, in the Hyuuga's calculations. Everyone had seen him with with the blue eye'd girl he dated their freshman year. They were in love, and practically drooling over one another. How can you give up that kind of happiness, just like that, he wondered. Looking to Naruto his head shook with the doubt he felt. Surely he was having his leg pulled.

"Seriously. He told me with his own two lips. I couldn't really believe it at first either." the look in his eyes was sad and shone with a different emotion that Neji couldn't place a finger on. Lonliness, perhaps?

The Hyuuga's brown head shook disbelievingly. "But I don't understand, he told you this, so why is he angry with you then? You weren't upset about it, were you?"

Naruto paused, shifting his gaze off to the side of Neji's head, focusing at something that wasn't really there.

"Not... for the reason he thought."

Neji closed his eyes, pain for the Inuzuka washing over him. "Oh, Naruto." he mumbled in total dismay. Just before he could ask how the Uzumaki could be so cold and selfish, he was prohibiited from speaking by Naruto's soft words.

"No, listen." he said, bringing up his hands in defense. "I was upset because it took him this long to tell me that he was fooling around with Shino. He's figured, in his mind, I was mad at him for being gay."

"Are you?" Neji stated simply, curious to know.

"No! In fact, I could care less! But Kiba's convinced himself otherwise. Now he's fucking mad at me and I don't know what to do anymore." Naruto looked at him despirately, searching for answers in the depths of Neji's white eyes, but found only a stony kind of judgement.

"Well, he has the right to be, if that's what he thinks. Especially since he knows that you are homosexual yourself." Neji replied, with little to no type of emotion behind his voice. He couldn't feel sorry for the blonde, no matter how much he tried. He wouldn't allow himself to. In the back of his mind, he told himself that Naruto deserved whatever pain he was feeling right now. How dare he be so selfish in such a delicate time in his - so called - best friend's life.

Naruto looked away from the Hyuuga's eyes in guilt. He knew the other was bound to throw that in his face sooner or later. For the sake of his humiliation, he chose to keep quiet, not wanting to be ridiculed any further by the long haired brunette in front of him.

Neji didn't like the silence, nor did he take to it well. He peered carefully at the side of the boy's slightly tanned face for a few moments. "He does know, doesn't he?"

Naruto scratched an invisible itch in his neck, still not turning to meet the Hyuuga's stare.

"Doesn't he?" he asked again.

Still no answer.

Neji forcefully grabbed the Uzumaki's chin within his fingers and turned the teen's face towards his. "Doesn't he know?" he growled intimidatingly.

Naruto looked uncomfortably to the side, still evading the intense gaze. "What if I said no?"

"Naruto!" Neji released him, crying out in distress. He couldn't believe his younger classmate never bothered to tell the fellow brunette about his choice of lifestyle. When Kiba confessed his own, that had - if there never was - been the perfect opportunity for the other to speak up.

"I know..." The Uzumaki pleaded, more nervous than before. "I know I should have told him, but I never got the opportunity! I-"

"Do you have _any_ idea how he's going to feel when he does find out? He's gonna feel so, so betrayed, Naruto. Not to mention he just might kick your ass because of it." he added as-a-matter-of-factly, looking Naruto straight in the eyes

Naruto made a sound of dispair, cradling his head in his hands. It wasn't like he wanted it to be this way. "I understand that!" he nearly screamed through his frustration. "It's not like I didn't try to tell him, though. First he was all over Hitomi, spending every waking hour of every day with her. Then, not long after he breaks up with her, he starts acting completely distant towards me. I couldn't stop arguing with him long enough to tell him what I had to say."

Neji looked at the blonde, white eyes sympathetic. He understood where he was coming from, somewhat, but that still didn't change the facts. If both boys had been honest from the begining then they would not be in this disasterous dilema right now. He was having a terribly hard time feeling sorry for the blonde; he hated that Naruto had to be so stubborn all the time.

"Mmmhmm." he replied, not really knowing what else to say, brain tired from all the emotional distress that rolled off the boy next to him. Naruto remained in his self loathing position, head hanging down, clutched between two comforting hands.

"What was worse was that, he went on this whole tyrade about how unloyal I was, how much of a bad friend I am, how stupid I am." he admit in a tone so defeated, Neji's heart couldn't help but wrench at the words. It was very rare to see the blonde so emotionally drained; with him smiling and pretending to be happy all of the time, it was hard for one to see his true feelings.

"I just... I don't know, I got angry. I mean I'm not angry, I'm not. I just didn't have a chance to say what I really felt. He was too busy being angry at me." Naruto finished with a sigh, leaning back onto the soft fabric of the couch's maroon cushions. He stared at the space above him with lack of interest, thoughts of never speaking to his friend again plagueing his mind.

"You never told anyone, did you?" The Hyuuga asked, without preamble. Naruto shifted his view over to the brunette and frowned at the elder boy. His brows furrowed in defense once the statement made sense to his fogged mind.

"Yes, Jiraiya knows about it." he offered, jesturing to said elderly man's closed door; light snores could be heard floating through the walls. The older man had his share of sake as well, or so it would seem.

Neji frowned, "That's not what I mean."

"...No..." At the look the brunette gave him, Naruto's blood nearly ran cold. "Come on Neji, you know how it is! It was hard just keeping it a secret." he tried to salvage the situation. It didn't help if two people were angry at him. He didn't like the idea of a very cross Neji sitting next to him on his couch, glaring daggers into his skin and damning him into all oblivion.

A soft voice lured him out of his musings. Naruto almost didn't hear the brunette speak, but he heard the words very clearly.

"A whole year I dedicated myself to you... Do you think I still care?"

"Oh Gods, Neji," he panicked, he didn't like where this conversation was going at all. Neji's face was blank, however and he couldn't tell what the other was thinking. Hell, he could never guess what went on in the Hyuuga's mind, it was an enigma to him. But he did understand that the boy was hurting, even if he didn't want to show it. He pleaded with the brunette, "Don't do this to me right now. First I lose you, now Kiba... I just... I just need someone to stand by me for now." Naruto grabbed Neji's hands within his own, squeezing them just as he did the week before, when he asked the male to listen to his problem. He had forgotten how small and soft Neji's hands were.

"You lost me? I thought you were the one that let me go." the brunette mused, tipping his head to one side thoughtfully. A pained expression graced itself on Naruto's features; he was fucking things up left and right, wasn't he?

"You know, I'm sorry for the way things happened. I could have handled it better." his blonde head shook with heavy woe, mind going back to the day he ended his relationship with the Hyuuga. It was so vivid, he could remember the young genius's exact expression. The memory clenched at Naruto's heart and twisted.

"Yeah, you could have." Neji muttered, with lack of anything else to say.

He hadn't gotten over what happened and somewhere deep inside of him, he wanted Naruto to know that, to know how much he hurt him. The new memories of the moment caused him to temporarily forget about the Uzumaki's persistant problem with he and his best friend. He didn't care to be a comfort at the moment, as selfish as it sounded.

"Your not going to make this easy for me, are you." his voice was soft, almost tentative, as not to tempt Neji's anger anymore. The brunette looked at him with soft, steady eyes.

"It depends. Are you going to let me?"

"I would prefer it. I already feel horrible about myself."

"I don't know, Naruto, you dug this mess yourself." he sighed, removing his hands from within the other's firm, tanned grip. He forgot for a moment that their fingers were still entangled together. Naruto could do that a lot, make him forget about things that didn't matter. Neji shook his head.

That thought was unbidden and unwelcome. They were over. It did not do well to dwell on the past, it was not in his nature either, he lied to himself. He didn't know how to let go. What exactly did he think he was using Gaara to forget about? The thought of the red head sent a stab of guilt to pierce Neji's stomach. He shouldn't be here, with Naruto, somehow it felt wrong.

"I've been trying to fix it. He hasn't spoken to me for a whole month! He won't even look at me when we're in the hall. I feel so helpless now." the blonde said, still looking at the elder teen's face, waiting for some kind of reaction. He was rewarded with a deep frown in concentration.

"I don't really know what to say. This is a tough situation." Neji closed his eyes to think. It was all too much for him. His mind was cluttered, half with thoughts of Naruto and the other half, well, with thoughts of you know who. It confused him terribly, the sudden conflicting emotions he had.

It was like he was giving up one for the other and Neji wasn't really sure that that was what he wanted.

"You know, after he told me, everything really started to make sense. He does spend a lot of time with Shino. Wherever we go, he goes. They always use to run off together around the same time as well." he paused to chuckle slightly. Neji remembered the sound fondly. "Kind of reminds me of how we use to act, remember?"

He wished he could forget. "Yeah. Except we never had the luxury of sharing a room together."

Their relationship was made from sneaking to one another's house in the middle of the night, during that first summer. After school started, the had to become creative. It was interesting how many private corners you can find in the main building of the school. Sometimes - when he was in the spirit - Lee would excuse himself from the room just so the two could have privacy. That was one of the perks of rooming with Rock Lee last year, thought Neji.

"Maa, but we made due with what we had." Naruto admit, a slight smile on his tanned, hansome face. He looked about as nostalgic as Neji felt. The brunette shook his head, the moment was too suffocating, it brought back too many memories.

"But it didn't feel right, Naruto." he commented truthfully. Though he enjoyed being around the blonde, the circumstances they were under made him feel that they were doing something wrong. He hated feeling that way and was sure Kiba did too.

"Neji, come on-"

"Seriously." Neji cut through the boy's sentance, eyeing him with a calm gaze. "Sneaking around, going behind your best friends back. Don't tell me you didn't feel bad about that."

"...I did." Naruto nodded reluctantly after a short pause.

"Right, and now don't you think Kiba feels the exact same way?"

"I... I guess."

"Of course he does. The only difference between the two of you was he actually had the nerve to tell you." Naruto made a dismissing sound.

"Yeah, after they had been going out for, like, a year and a half! And he didn't even do it willingly, Shino bullied him into telling me." He said angrily, throwing his arms up as if in defeat. He could never win with Neji, in an argument, anyway. He ran a frustrated hand through blonde spikes; he was so tired, all he wanted to do was sleep.

Neji sighed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter, he let you know in his own words, correct?"

Naruto thought for a moment. When he realised the Hyuuga was right, he nodded, "...yes."

"Then it doesn't matter if it was a year later or 10 years later, you should have supported him. Kami only knows what he's going through right now." Combing tired fingers through his once straight and tidy hair, Neji inhaled slowly, letting it out in a huff. He looked at Naruto who bit his lip pensively. "Sometimes, Naruto, you're so... stupid." he mumbled, brain too exhausted from lack of sleep and emotional overdrive to come up with a more eloquent word. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I know."

"You need to stop being so stubborn and reconcile with Kiba. I'm not saying this to be nice either, I'm telling you how I honestly feel about this situation."

"I know, Neji." he looked timidly at the brunette next to him.

Neji nodded, yawned and scratched his head. Naruto didn't get enough tough love in his life. If he had... well, let's just say he wouldn't make so many mistakes.

"I'm glad you understand."

Naruto looked at the clock; it was almost four now. It was late, but he still had a few concerns on his mind. Neji looked exhausted, but he took the chance, for fear of the opportunity never showing itself again.

"Neji...?" he called the teen, voice quiet.

Neji answered in a voice just as calm, "Yes, Naruto." Naruto took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before he spoke.

"If you're not terribly angry at me, could I possibly ask you another question?" Neji turned to look into Naruto's blue eye's completely, shocked by the emptiness he found within them.

"Look at my face." he said without need, seeing as they were already staring into eachother's eyes. Naruto's eyes moved to his lips briefly, before meeting his eyes once more. "No, I'm not terribly angry at you, disappointed, but not angry." Neji admit sourly, but voice still gentle.

As Naruto stared into the other males eyes, he saw the little shine of hope he needed. If he didn't get this over with, he would lose the courage to continue.

Eyes staring straight through the Hyuuga's transparent irises, Naruto asked, "If given the chance, in all seriousness, if there was some hope that it would work out... would you want to-"

Neji shook his head, eyes hidden behind tense eyelids. He wasnt going to say it, he thought to himself. Naruto was not going to ask him the question he feard he'd ask since stepping into the party that night.

"Naruto, please, don't play with me." he mumbled, eyes still closed. He couldn't handle this right now.

"No, never, I'd never play about something like this! Im serious, would you?"

"Would I what?" _What am I doing? _"I want to hear you say it." _What am I thinking?_ He berated himself silently. What good would hearing the actual question spoken out loud do? He already knew what his answer would be; he made his mind on that long ago. What did the Uzumaki think? that he would sit on his hands and wait? He moved on, trying despirately to forget.

"Would you give us another chance?" Naruto whispered. With those few words, Neji's resolve started to slowly crumble.

"Why would I do that?"

He looked away, he couldn't look Naruto in the eyes. He hated him. They broke up! They were over, he decided that himself.

"I-I miss you, Neji." Another rock in his foundation of denial crumbled. "When we broke up, I cried.... I cried for days." Neji rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't imagine it. Why would someone cry over him? Naruto saw the doubtfilled eye movement and moved to stand right in front of the Hyuuga. "Honestly, you can even ask that old pervert in there! I regretted it... so much."

"Then why did you-" he made a gamble and looked up at the blonde in front of him. Big mistake. Those beautiful blue eyes, once so brilliant and happy, looked sad, empty.

"Because I'm stupid. You know: idiot Naruto. You can always count on him to fuck things up."

Neji shook his head slowly, turning his eyes away again. "You're not stupid, Naruto..."

"Yeah, I am. I let go of one of the best things in my life for some stupid reason and I have lived to regret that choice everyday since..." He got to his knees in front of the brunette, Neji turned his eyes on him hesitantly.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Please, Nej, I'm begging you." Naruto cupped the other's pale face in his hands and brought it close to his. Neji faltered, but still resisted, even though his heart pounded in his ears, begging him to take the offer.

"Naruto, I don't know..." his eyes closed once more. Feeling the warm roughness of the palms that covered his cheeks, he considered greatly giving in to the blonde. But his pride, he was too stubborn. He learned from the best, he supposed. And then there was still Gaara...

"No, please Neji, I need you so much right now." the Blonde pleaded, leaning in closer since the other boy's brown head wouldn't move. His actions were stalled, however, by a finger at his lips.

Neji frowned, he could smell the sweet sake still on the other's lips. He had forgotten about it. It was the alcohol driving the Uzumaki's actions, not his own feelings. He sighed in complete dismay.

"You're drunk."

Naruto's blonde head shook with vigor. Makeing the Hyuuga's heart hiccup in his chest.

"No I'm not. My head is so clear, I can tell you anything. You want reasons? You need me to show you how serious I am this time? I'll tell them, I'll tell everyone I know. I don't care anymore, Neji. Nothing's worth losing you."

_Just say no. Make up an excuse. Leave, before you're pulled in further._ But he couldn't. Neji couldn't give the boy an answer that wasn't honest or did not feel like he was making a bad decision. He wanted to say yes, but he adamantly refused to do so. There were... complications. It wasn't just about him anymore. He couldn't understand what brought this sudden urge for the blonde to be with him, but he wouldn't be caught up again.

"You surely haven't been acting like you missed me." he said to the blonde, frustration forming the words. "The times you've taunted me in class, the atitude you've given me on a daily basis? Explain that to me."

Naruto's eyes widened before he dipped his head in shame. "I'm just... a stubborn child. I like seeing you annoyed... It's cute." he admit. Neji did not have the luxury to see the small tint of color that graced the Uzmaki's tanned cheeks at that moment. He continued warilly, "And I gave you attitude because you did the same in return. I could never hate you, Neji. It was just... the only contact I felt was allowed between us."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Neji whispered, defeatedly.

"I don't know... I wanted to, but I was afraid of your rejection." He paused to lift his head, eyes widening in horror, "Oh gods, please don't tell me that that's what this is." Neji looked into his blue eyes, his filled with a plethora of emotions. Hurt, sadness, remorse, being a few of them. Naruto tightened his fingers on the brunette's cheeks. "You can't reject me, Neji. You can't."

If he did... Naruto did not know what he would do once the Hyuuga rejected him. He hoped, prayed, that he wouldn't. He did not have anywhere else to turn to. He loved Neji so much, to be torn apart again would be unbarable. He watched with bated breath as the Hyuuga struggled to speak.

"I... I..."

With a fear so strong it hurt him, burned him to his core, Naruto kissed Neji. The gentle embrace of lips lasted only a moment before he broke apart from the brunette, placing another kiss at the teen's forehead.

"I need you..." he whispered, dropping another kiss on the boy's closed eye.

Neji's face was flushed, he couldn't think or breathe. He hated this, hated that only Naruto could do this to him. And deep down in his heart of hearts he knew he couldn't refuse the young blonde, no matter how hard he may try.

"Naruto... I..." Another kiss on the lips silenced his plea. His hands came up to clench in Naruto's flannel shirlt.

"Please..." Naruto whispered breathlessly against the Hyuuga's mouth, his warm breath, sweetened withe the sake, tickled Neji's cheeks. He thought his heart would explode.

"We can't..." It hurt so much to keep rejecting him.

"Why...?" the blonde asked, pulling away. His eyes were opened and confused.

"Because... I... we..."

Neji paused to gather his bearings. He argued with himself, trying to make sense. Trying to give himself a good reason to refuse the blonde's tempting offer. This was wrong, wasn't it? _No._His mind supplied the answer for him. _This is what you've wanted for the last few months. _It won't last... _That's only for time to tell. _But Gaara... _He'll understand._

Naruto waited for the rejection he didn't want to come. He watched the Hyuuga's face carefully, watched his slender eyebrows frown in thought. He didn't understand why it was so hard for the brunette to take him back. He sought to apologise, make amends for all the wrong he's done to the Hyuuga, didn't he understand that?

"Neji..." he whispered fondly, stroking the brunette's soft, silky hair. He pushed the male back against the sofa, resting comfortably on top of him before bringing his lips down to Neji's. The Hyuuga looked hesitant, but welcoming. Naruto teased his tongue inside of the pale teen's mouth, revering in the tase that was Neji. How he missed it so... He missed kissing the brunett and spending time with him. He missed laughig with Neji, talking about thing's the genius normally wouldn't converse over. He missed waking up to him flushed against his body. He had to admit, he missed that the most.

Breaking the kiss, he looked down at the only person he could ever feel such a strong emotions towards. White eyes gazed at him uncertainly.

"Do you still love me?"

Neji closed his eyes, shutting them to disappear.. Naruto knew that was a question he could never lie about. He vowed to never lie about his feelings towards the blonde. He couldn't break that promise, it was solemn and - at the time - he put his whole heart into it because Naruto had felt the same.

"Naruto, this isn't fair." he whispered pleadingly. Gentle teeth nibbled at his bottom lip and he resisted the urge to pull away. Naruto kissed him again, this time harder than the last, more despirate.

"Do you still love me, Neji?"

Lieing, at this point, seemed useless.

"... Yes..."

That was all Naruto needed to hear, that one little word. He covered Neji's mouth with his again, this time with more urgency. To know that the Hyuuga still had feelings for him, made the hope in his chest blossom and become stronger. He knew he still had him, why the brunette resisted before, he would probably never know, but it didn't matter anymore. Neji was his, and he would make sure it stayed that way. No matter what people or teachers said around school, no matter what his friends might say, their thoughts didn't concern him. The only thing that mattered to him was the person lying underneath him.

And Kiba.

But he would make amends with his best friend in due time. He promised himself that before his moment of helplessness, before he realised just how lonly he was without Neji next to him, like always.

The Hyuuga lifted his arms, wrapping them around the blonde's neck tightly, anchoring Naruto closer to him as the kiss deepened and became more exploring. _This is what I need. How could I ever try to forget this? _Neji mentally scolded himself, moaning softly as the Uzumaki pressed harder against him.

He liked Gaara, but he could never be with the red head, this was the harsh reality and, unfortunately, what the brunette had dreaded. He didn't think the Sabaku would be hurt to find out... after all, it wasn't as if they were a couple at the time, or even now. What they shared was just for fun. Hollow. That thought prompted an ache in his heart, but he pushed it away, accepting the embrace that Naruto offered.

* * *

"Hnn, I still say Gaa-chan has been denying his feelings."

Gaara didn't know why he agreed to come home this weekend. It was for Sasori's sake, but Deidara was really starting to irritate him. The topic of favor - for the past day - has been Gaara's love life, or rather how he just recently may have aquired one. He seethed; Sasori swore he wouldn't tell Deidara. _He swore. _So much for promises.

"How would you know that," he grumbled, throwing down a yellow card. Sasori coughed.

"Deidara, let it go." He warned, contemplating the group of cards in his hand for a moment before placing a yellow draw 2. Deidara sighed, pulling from the deck.

Peeking out from over his hand of cards, he said, "Why? Gaara is a big boy, hmm, he can answer for himself."

Gaara grunted. "It's not that big of a deal, really." The blonde threw him a skeptical look. "It's not," he added, for effect.

The older blonde shook his head, placing a wild card down. "You sound like you're trying to convince yourself of that, not me." Now angry, Gaara threw down his cards and stood.

"I don't have to convince you of anything! What I say is true and either of you think otherwise then that's your own damn problem." Stomping out of the room, Sasori watched him go with mixed emotions in his eyes. He wanted to go after the red head, but felt he should take some time alone to cool off. Turning his head, he glared at the long haired blonde on the side of him.

Deidara placed his cards face down in front of him and untied his hair from it's high ponytail. He combed through the tangles with his fingers wile smiling to himself before he cared to take a glance at the teen seated next to him.

"What?" He defended, tieing his hair back up. Sasori's maroon head shook slowly, while he threw down another card needlessly, one still in his hand.

"Uno."

* * *

A song that keeps me motivated:  
_Thanks For The Memories _by **Fall Out Boy**

**.**

**Kyo **- o.o I just made myself lose The Game.

**Gaara **- What game?

**Kyo **- Does Gaa-chan want to play The Game? :D

**Gaara **- ... What are the rules?

**Kyo **- **1**. You are already playing The Game.  
**2**. If you think about The Game, you lose.  
**3**. Once you lose, you must then announce, out loud, that you have just lost The Game.

**Gaara **- I just lost The Game...?

**Kyo **- You got it!

**Gaara **- How do you win The Game?

**Kyo **- I dunno... I just lost The Game :/

**Gaara **- So... What's gonna happen next?

**Kyo **- ... We'll keep moving forward.

**Gaara **- Don't play games with me...

**Kyo **- O.O I just lost The Game. =] And you guys won't figure out what happens for a while. CUZ I'M POOR!! And my internet's being stripped away for a while..... like always... so be patient. AND REVIEW!!!


	8. The Prince Enters

**Chapter 8: The Price Enters The Stage With A Grimace!**

Gaara slammed the sliding glass door of his room balcony before heaving a great sigh. His thought were all muffled, he hated feeling this way. The provoking from Deidara had seemed to serve it's purpose; he was seriously doubting himself now. He couldn't tell if he was holding back his feelings or not because he had never really felt like this about anyone before now. He tried to recall the feelings that Elliot stirred inside of him, but that was so long ago...

Rubbing his arms against the chill in the Sunday night air, Gaara breathed deeply, looking out over Konoha. Denying his feelings... Whatever that meant. Deidara was just delusional. He had explained everything quite clearly to the blonde and still, it seemed as if he didn't understand. Talking to the boy was like trying to converse with a brick wall. Gaara sighed again.

"Maybe I would have been better of if I didn't say anything about it," he thought absently, pulling at the threads in his sweater.

"Say anything about what?" came a voice from behind the red head. He nearly jumped at the sound, but relaxed when he noticed it was only Sasori.

Grunting, Gaara said in a low voice, "You know what." Sasori snorted.

"Yeah and I'm sure everything would be just pie and cake if you would have kept your mouth shut." He told the red head rather sarcastically. Gaara didn't know Sasori could pull off sarcastic. "Either way you would have to deal with this bullshit sooner or later." He shuffled up to the rail of the small veranda and leaned his forearms onto the cool metal. Gaara frowned.

"What bullshit?" he asked, eying his friend's face closely.

"The doubt, uncertainty, confusion. Don't tell me you don't feel any of that, it's written all over that pathetic face of yours." he admit without looking at the Sabaku. Vaguely, Gaara smiled and nodded.

At least he knew he couldn't lie.

"I guess... But it's hard-"

"Being confronted head first about it?" The elder teen finished for him, turning his chestnut eyes to face Gaara's sea green ones. Gaara nodded and ran an hand through his crimson hair.

"Yeah, what you just said."

Sasori smiled.

"You know, Gaara, nothing is as difficult as it seems. If you like the boy, then it's okay to like him. What harm is there in that?" Curious to the boys frustrations, Sasori leaned on one arm to face the red head, wind blowing wisps of hair into his face.

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"We're just too different."

"And...?"

A sigh. "...and... I don't know..." He paused to worry his lip between his teeth. Sasori waited patiently, gazing over the city, watching as the city lights illuminated the horizon.

"Sometimes I just feel... inadequate." he added dejectedly, bowing his head over the railing. Sasori sighed.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Gaara. This Neji character would be lucky to have you." he said softly, placing a reassuring hand on the teen's shoulder. Gaara smiled gratefully at the words and the gesture; it wasn't often that Sasori was so kind and generous. He was still a little upset about him telling Deidara - after him explicitly asking him not to - about his predicament, but he let it go. He needed the comfort, no matter what package it came in. And who knows, maybe the small confrontation he had with the blonde helped him to open his eyes a little.

"You think?" he asked hesitantly, but brightened when the other nodded.

"Absolutely. Anyone who knows you would say the same thing." he reassured.

Gaara allowed a faint look of contentment to pass among his features. Maybe the world wasn't all screwed up like he thought it would be. Maybe he did have a chance to live - perhaps not normally - but freely.

Still smiling, Sasori patted his back once more. "You ready to go back inside and face your fears?" Begrudgingly, Gaara nodded to his friend, making a move to open the glass door. At the last moment he turned back to his best friend.

"Next time, when I'm having a life changing dilemma, please don't tell Deidara about it."

Sasori laughed, shaking his head. "I'll try not to."

* * *

In the middle of the pleasantly spacious room sat Deidara with an indignant pout on his lips. Gaara rolled his eyes, not completely ruling out the possibility that the other red head might have given the blonde a stern lecture before going outside to cheer him up. He sat on his bed with a huff. Deidara twitched a silky eyebrow.

"So... hmmm, is everything all peachy again?" Sasori nodded. "Well, good, now I can start talking about myself, un." He clapped his hands in an animated fashion. "You two will never guess where Itachi-chan took me on our date last weekend!" he chirped giddily.

Sasori and Gaara didn't have to answer the question, they knew the blond was going to spill all of the details about it whether they wanted him to or not.

* * *

Wednesday afternoon, just after lunch, and the sun was glaring overhead, accompanied by a few scattered clouds. Currently standing inside the gymnasium, observing a taijutsu match between two of his students, was Maito Gai. His thick, black brows were furled in concentration as he watched the match as each teen absorbed blow after blow. Suddenly a loud battle cry broke the ears of all that were listening as the boy - deemed Lee-ni (2) after several bouts of confusion - dealt a crippling blow to the midsection of his sparring partner. The other boy fell to the floor, unable to even bat an eyelash. The victor was clear.

Applause sounded and Gai brought his attention to the boy at his side. Rock Lee's eyes were wide - wider than usual - his mouth dropped open in awe as he stared at his peer. He continued to clap as he approached the other Lee.

"WOW! Lee-nisan is most impressive!" he said in his excited voice. The other Lee shrugged and rotated a shoulder.

"It's all in the training." he smiled.

Gai-sensei approached the two Lee's with a less than impressed look on his face. He waved a hand at the spiky-haired Lee.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't get ahead of yourself kid, take a seat." He ordered the boy, then turned to give a thumbs up to his other student. "You're still the best, Lee." He ensured the teen, with a nice guy smile. Rock Lee beamed at the appraisal.

"Who's next?" The teacher shouted, looking over the small group of about ten children, give or take a few. One girl stood up, raising her hand shyly.

"I think I am, sensei." she announced. Gai nodded.

"Ah, Shin Kasumi, get up here." He turned to Lee, cupping a hand around the boys ear so that he may whisper his words of encouragement to him. "Rock Lee, even though she is a girl, I don't want you to pull one punch, understand?"

"B-But sensei!" Lee exclaimed, round eyes filled with surprise that his teacher would admit something so contemptuous. She was a _girl_ after all.

A soft frail little girl, who would probably run away crying if he tapped her on the shoulder, let alone gave her a well placed kick to the ribs or jab to the face. _Oh heavens no_, he thought, he couldn't do that, not to a girl. Especially one as cute as she. The girl tightened her auburn ponytail and stood opposite Lee on the mat, she smiled at him and he got a weird felling in his stomach. All the while, Gai was still muttering into his ear.

"Listen to what I say! Female fighters are the most treacherous, you must always be on your guard. What with their deceptive curves and treacherous eyes, keep focus, my brilliant student." He encouraged, nodding tightly and looking at Lee with meaningful brown eyes. Rock Lee nodded his black head as well, still not completely convinced.

He respected his sensei, more than any other adult as a matter of fact, but he wasn't sure he could follow his path this time. Something about the girl, Kasumi as she was called, that screamed fragile. She was always quiet and kept to herself in class. Usually she would be with her friends, enduring other exercises Gai had permitted, he wondered vaguely what made the red head girl want to participate in the taijustu practice. He shook his head softly, placing both hands on his hips.

A small voice interrupted his thought process.

"Please, you don't have to back down because I'm a girl. I rather not fight, but this is the only activity that I haven't participated in yet and I need to complete at least one round if I am to receive a grade." Kasumi explained, clasping her hands together in a pleading manner.

"There, you see, she has no qualms about it." Gai raved, pushing Lee forward. "Now demonstrate some of that excellent power of youth!"

Lee's mind was still doubtful, but he took his stance; one hand behind his back, the other lifted in front of him, as if beckoning his opponent to attack.

Kasumi crouched low, bending her knees slightly, eyes resolute and determined, willing all of the doubt and innocence out of her vision. She had to win this, no matter what. She was aware of Lee's physical strength and abilities, but she couldn't back down now, it wasn't in her character, she may have not been enthusiastic about the fight to begin with but this was something she had to do, despite what her conscious was telling her. And how much she was most likely going to lose. The red head took a deep breath and muttered the one word that always gave her strength.

"Nii-san..."

Lee's eyes turned hard. This was a battle... like always. So why was his heart fluctuating so desperately, as if beating a million miles a minute, not to mention the butterflies that were attempting complex acrobatic tricks all throughout his stomach. Kasumi was an opponent, albeit female, but other than that she was no different than the next challenger. He waited for Gai's signal to start.

The sensei stood just out side of the ring, whistle poised at his lip, smirk in place. Lee would win, he could see it in the boys eyes. How couldn't he? At the sound of the shrill call, the match began.

Lee stood still as he allowed the girl to make the first move, which she did and rather quickly he may have noted, if in fact he had seen the girl shuffle to the left of him an deal four sharp blows to his side. Luckily he was fast enough to block the last two blows after the small red headed girl managed to land the first and second. His side tingled a bit, her fists had power to them after all.

_She's fast. _More than only Lee agreed to the unspoken statement.

Pride wounded a little, Lee reacted with lightening speed, connecting his balled fist with the girl's stomach; Kasumi doubled in pain but did not scream out. After his disabling blow, Lee continued, without pause knocking the girl's legs out from under her with a swift sweep of his left foot. Kasumi's back connected harshly to the padded mat, she grunted in pain, still able to slightly feel the hard wood floor underneath.

Their audience gasped at the force in which the red head was knocked down and Lee turned an empathetic eye on his opponent, walking slowly up to the girl. Even if he had been the victor, he had no right to treat her so brutally although he doubted she was severely hurt, the regret still showed in his eyes as he held out a hand to Kasumi.

She stalled for a moment, then lifted up on her own into a crouch, spinning her body around to lay a swift but powerful kick to Lee's torso. Rock Lee gasped and jumped back, stunned, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. Didn't he win? Wasn't she defeated? How is she standing? He questioned all in his mind, then he considered the force of his blow and the power of the kick he sent to her legs and wondered if this girl was more powerful than she looked.

As he was occupied with his thoughts, Kasumi thought it the perfect time to strike, when the young martial artist was distracted. Focus was what the young girl was often taught and once that was lost, you were insured victory. She ran towards her target, landing several blows to his face and chest, finishing of her combo with a high back-flip kick. Lee never saw it coming. They both landed on the mat at the same time, Kasumi gracefully on both legs, entering her fighting stance once more, Lee not so gracefully onto his head. All was silent.

Gai's eyes narrowed in confidence. _Get the hell up, Lee_. He silently urged. By this time more and more people gathered around to watch the match play out. No one routed for anyone, every spectator was eerily quiet, the sound of labored breathing and rustling on the practice mat the only thing that could be heard.

Lee stood, a little disoriented from the kick to the head, but he quickly shook it off. _Damn_. This _**little **_girl was better than he'd anticipated. Her reaction time was incredible and her speed nearly -and he hated to say it- matched his. If he was going to end this _practice _match and come out the winner as usual, then he was going to have to end it very quickly. As soon as he rose, however, the red head charged towards him, twisting her body into a cartwheel kick that served to propel him back even more, not landing on him, but causing damage to his concentration nonetheless. At the rate and consistency of her attacks, it was the best he could do to dodge each of them for now.

Growing suddenly anxious that he was losing this battle, Lee countered with an attack of his own. A punch to the face sent the small girl into the air, a second hit ascended her more, and the third, a kick to the mid section, sent her spiraling into the nearest wall, splattering against it like a paint ball. The onlookers moved aside, not wanting to become the cushion for the girl's landing, instead gazing at her in worry as she quickly stood after her impact, bruised and a little worse for the ware, but still standing. She calmly walked back onto the mat, small mumbles from the spectators rose.

Lee smirked. _This girl..._

He ran towards her, not holding back and she pared each and every one of his attacks, so he pushed on, counter after counter, blow after blow, until her resolve started to weaken, but she wasn't giving up. The look in her eyes were the fiercest, yet most afraid he'd ever seen in any opponent before. Quite frankly, this was the best match he's had in all of his sixteen years and doubted if there were any better to come. Her stamina was amazing, even after all the bruises, the countless times he's knocked her into the wall, the ground and on one occasion almost into Gai-sensei, she still stands just as easily as she did the first time. Not that he was any better, Kasumi had even managed to put a fair share of bruises on our Konoha dragon, of that she was insanely proud.

But both were becoming unsteady, wobbling as they attempted to stand still. In both of their minds they realized that this final attack would be the one that decided the match and after ten minutes of bashing each others skull in, they were ready to declare on the victor. Those who watched the match couldn't agree more.

They moved at the same time, Lee jumping into the air to deliver his famed attack: the Lotus kick. He thought he landed it, in fact he was most certain he did hit the girl, she had no room to escape and this was his fastest and most powerful attack, but it missed. Or rather, she disappeared. As Lee landed, he looked around , he wondered where the sakura petals that now littered the mat came from. He didn't have time to think about it, his arm was gabbed and Kasumi was suddenly low at his side, right arm bend at her chest. He barely saw the blow.

She stood just behind him, back facing him, breathing labored and sweat drenched as Lee collapsed. It was as if the whole auditorium gasped at the same time.

Lee was on his knees for about a minute, before he begrudgingly stood to face his opponent, she turned to face him, mahogany eyes sympathetic.

"Yurushite..." She bowed low, her ponytail falling over one shoulder, then lifted up.

Lee stood before the girl's worried eyes, bowing slightly, defeated but still somehow, content.

"I accept defeat in the most honorable fashion." He humbly offered. Kasumi smiled.

Gai bounded over the soft blue mat, over to where his most prodigious student stood accepting his defeat. He couldn't believe his eyes, the match had been fair, Lee had been momentarily out-classed, Kasumi won. The small girl, fists no bigger than his pinky, and the worst part, she didn't want to fight, he could sense it from the start.

"LEE!! MY STUDENT!! What was the problem?!?" He urged the boy, dragging him up by his shoulders, shaking him to dizziness, just when Kasumi was about to speak.

Dazed, Lee responded, "But sensei, wasn't it you who told me that victory sometimes calls for defeat?! It is where we gain the most knowledge." Gai shook his head fiercely, eyes wild with an unknown emotion, but Rock Lee was fairly sure it was disappointment.

"But Lee, you lost to a girl!" Lee could already sense the lecture. "Sometimes in defeat all that you have learned is that you have been defeated!" He tipped his dark head down, rising to his feet. It was a few minutes before the thick-browed teen realized his teacher was crying... in a very manly fashion, of course. "If only... If only I could have been a b-better sensei!" He wailed, Lee paced a hand on his sensei's shoulder.

"G-Gai-sensei has always been the best!" He shouted resolutely, tears brimming at the edges of his eyes as well.

Students surrounding the two rolled their eyes at the display. It was no secret that Gai thought very highly of the prodigious student, for Lee wasn't good at anything else besides the rigorous training that his sensei had put him through. Gai liked to think he was the only person - teacher - that made a difference in the boys life, being the only on that taught him valuable information that was actually retained and practiced on a daily schedule. That is what gave him his high, knowing he had given birth to a winner and blossomed him into the champion fighter that he is today. But there were also times when he felt his student was too soft for battle, instances such as this gave him those thorough beliefs.

His thoughts were proven correct at the boy's next words.

"Sensei, I know you told me not to hold back, but there was no way I could easily and quite brutally beat up a girl. Especially one as... cute as Kasumi-san." He said in a low voice, looking back at the girl who had, by then returned to her place next to the ring, beside a dark haired girl with piercing ice blue eyes. Gai looked at his student incredulously.

Then he narrowed his eyes at the boy in superior knowing. His frown lifted into a fox like grin, his voice heightened a few octaves as he spoke to his prodigy.

"I see..." He grinned, looking towards Kasumi, then back at Lee. The boy looked up at the man, puzzlement in his eyes.

"What?" His shoulders lifted in question.

Gai's eyes closed, his grin still wildly spread across his slightly sun-tanned face. He patted Lee's smooth black hair, nodding, as the boy looked on in confusion.

"That'll do, Lee. That'll do." Was all he said before he turned and walked away.

Lee's eyes followed the man until he was a few feet away. His arms lifted to another lingering shrug, "What?!"

Gai continued his gait and the next combatants to practiced pushed the dumbfounded Lee off of the blue mat. He landed outside of the makeshift ring with a thud, almost landing on top of an unsuspecting Gaara in the process. He quickly uprooted himself, sitting Indian style on the wooden floor, brows knitted together in concentration.

"Watch it," the irate red head growled after almost being squashed by the bowl cut teen.

"Sorry..." he heard Lee mumble. _Just what the hell had that been about? _He wondered.

Lee looked over at the cause of his annoyance, the girl was smiling quietly chatting with her friend, nursing a bruise to her cheek with an ice-pack. Lee noticed the way her pouty pink lower lip moved as she spoke and blushed, the reddening of his cheeks causing him to turn his head away in embarrassment. He soon turned back, this time avoiding the girls lips and focusing instead on her soft ginger hair, and the way each strand practically glistened under the fluorescent gym lights. Then Kasumi's head turned, as if she could feel someone staring at the back of her head, Lee suddenly found himself staring into bright mahogany eyes. His gaze quickly averted, a silent promise to not return.

Gaara watched the boys antics with mild curiosity, but said nothing. Lee was always a bit off, so when he acted weirdly he just assumed it was normal for the boy. His focus, however, soon was brought back upon the cause of his recent stress. Neji.

Since the brunette returned from their recent weekend break, he had been acting rather strangely. More so than usual. Gaara tilted his head in thought. He could have just been imagining it. When the two returned to their dorm room late Sunday night, he had planned to confront the Hyuuga about his feelings towards him, but the air had changed some how. Neji avoided him, cut off his words and promptly slid into bed, complaining that they had to rise early in the morning, which was true but it still did not make a lot of sense to Gaara.

In the past when the brunette returned from his weekly visits home, he would - more or less - ravish the red head with kisses and hugs. This week was different. It felt as if the Hyuuga couldn't stand to look at Gaara; he frowned.

"I wonder what could have happened..." He mumbled under his breath, catching the attention of a slightly flustered Lee.

"What was that Gaara-chan?" he inquired with a lifted brow. Gaara shook his head.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something." Lee nodded, seemingly accepting that answer.

Then he asked suddenly, "How is the youthful bond between Neji-san and Gaara-chan working out?" Gaara paused, unable to think of an adequate answer for the boy's question.

What could he say? At this point he really didn't know. Three days have gone by without a friendly gesture from the brunette. It was like a repeat of the first week of school. And he hated to admit, he didn't like the distance the Hyuuga was building. He needed to know the problem.

Shaking his crimson head, Gaara sighed. "It's okay, I guess." Nodding more, Lee smiled somewhat sadly.

"That is good... that is good."

* * *

"We can't..." Neji pleaded, pushing at the strong chest in front of him halfheartedly. Naruto chuckled, looking up at the front of the room.

"Why not?" he countered, moving the restricting limb. "There's still over half and hour of class, I doubt Gai has taken his eyes off of Lee long enough to notice that we're missing."

Neji had to admit the boy did make a good point. He closed his eyes, tilting his head backwards as sneaky fingers moved up and under his gym shirt and soft curious lips roamed over his throat. This was dangerous and exciting all at once.

These past couple of days with the blonde made it feel as if they had never broken up in the first place. Their quarrel was easily mended and their make up sex afterward was incredible. Drunken and clumsy, but incredible. Neji saw - probably for the first time - that night how lonely the Uzumaki had truly been without him. And without Kiba as well. To lose the one you love and a best friend; he couldn't imagine the type of heartache the blonde went through in those few short months.

Wait, yes he could.

Because the same had happened to him.

Naruto was at heart his friend, whom he loved dearly. Once their relationship blossomed into something more, he was so happy. How many people on earth could admit that they get to say 'I love you' to their best friend and mean it in a way announces true, deep love? Personally, Neji didn't know that many.

But, of course, this feeling of happiness also came with a heavy heart, once he remembered Gaara. He felt bad, ashamed of himself for never addressing the matter properly with the red head. He knew he was being selfish, still stringing the boy along, but he had no idea how to approach the male after something like this. Experiencing what he did with Gaara, he proceeded to do everything he promised that he wouldn't. He felt like shit because of it.

Unaware of the brunette's turmoil, Naruto lifted him up onto on of the desks in front of the classroom, directly in front of the teacher's desk, across from the door. Neji made a muffled sound that was part surprise and arousal. His eyes widened at the Uzumaki's intentions; his hands grabbed the blonde's wrists, halting them in their place.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?!" he whispered furiously, eying the door of the darkened classroom. Naruto laughed heartily.

"C'mon, Neji," he nuzzled the brunettes cheek. Despite himself Neji leaned into the caress. "You can't tell me that this isn't a total turn on for you." He pulled back to stare heatedly into white eyes. Neji bit his lip.

If looks could kill...

In this case, though, that look made him want to turn into a puddle of jelly on the floor. How the hell obnoxious, hyperactive, idiot little Naruto managed to pull of that look... hell might freeze over before anyone found out. Needless to say, he gave in, quite enthusiastically.

* * *

"OK! breaks over, time to line up!" Gai suddenly appeared, as if out of no where, deep voice booming like a loud speaker. All the students who were unfortunate enough to be around him as he yelled, cringed and backed away from the jumpsuit clad man. He pointed at the start line on the end of the track field. "45 minutes to go, you know the drill. Sabaku, get your tail up here!"

Gaara looked at the red rubber track with disinterested eyes.

"I'll pass."

A vein popped out of the teachers forehead, bulging right above his superior eyebrows. He took a deep breath, a few kids covered their ears.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR SUCH INSUBORDINATION! IT IS NEITHER BEAUTIFUL NOR YOUTHFUL TO BLATANTLY IGNORE THE ORDERS OF A SUPERIOR! STRENGTHENING THE BODY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS STRENGTHENING THE MIND, IN THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUR YOUTH IT IS VITAL THAT YOU EXERCISE BOTH!!" At the end of his rant, Gai was out of breath and red in the face.

Gaara rolled his eyes and walked slowly to the front of the line. Gai eyed him fiercely, vigorously chewing the gum he'd had since morning. All the flavor was gone, but it still served it's part; he blew an angry bubble.

An irritated voice at the back of the line spoke up, "Oi, oi! Do you have to be so bloody loud?!"

Gai flicked his brown gaze over to the back of the line where, undoubtedly, the ponytail poked up out of the crowd, he didn't ignore the patch of red-orange just beside it either. He pointed a thick finger at the student, chewing his gum even more ferociously.

"Nara! I swear on Bruce Lee... Keep it up, and I'll force 200 laps around the school out of you and your tubby friend." He turned back towards Gaara, who sighed.

The man was always like this, he supposed it was more extreme since the sensei's favorite student - no matter how many times he claimed he did not show favoritism - lost a match to a new-coming first year _girl_. He always preached that sex made no difference, but as you could see, he was highly upset by the loss, even more so than the actual loser; Lee looked up at him in worried confusion.

"Once around, you against Sigelinde (a.n. he pronounces it _Si-gu-rin-do_), Yamanaka and Sai." He spoke to Gaara, checking off a few things on his clipboard.

Ino sighed, moving away from the general area that surrounded Sasuke. She huffed at the pleased look in Sakura's face. The black haired male that was addressed silently made his way to the track and stood on his mark.

Enthusiastically, Hitomi shouted, "You got it!" As she made her way up frond, abandoning Kasumi who wondered by her side.

"Just get on your mark."

"Hai, hai." She yelled, jumping into place. She winked at Gaara, who returned no response.

Gai blew his whistle and the four took off, Sai in the lead, Ino trailing not too far behind, Hitomi quickly gaining on her and Gaara _way_ in the back. By the time Ino finished, after being sped past by the energetic brunette, muttering curses under her breath, Gaara wasn't even at the halfway mark yet.

Twelve long minutes later, Gaara noticed Gai tapping his foot in impatience, waiting for the boy to reach the finish line. He didn't hurry his gate, in fact he walked even slower. Gai popped his gum in irritation.

"Any day now..."

Gaara passed the man, wiping non-existent perspiration from his brow.

"No sweat."

"Yeah, pull some crap like that and you'll be running three miles, nonstop; get back in line. Next!" He read off the board. "Hyuuga, Fong, Aburame and Uchiha."

Two small females stepped forward, one Gaara noticed to be Neji's cousin, the same cousin he met when first entering the school. He could see the family resemblance. Those infuriating white eyes.

Speaking of the Hyuuga, Gaara hadn't seen him since before the beginning of gym class. He wondered silently where the long haired brunette was, then noticed a missing Naruto as well. He frowned.

How dare he be left alone to deal with the impenetrable force that was Rock Lee and Gai-sensei.

A school of girls stampeded past him in order to view the Uchiha stretching at his mark.

Oh yeah.

He couldn't forget about the fan-club.

Rolling his eyes, he shoved past the ocean of young women in search of Lee or someone who might know of the brunettes whereabouts. It wasn't like he was concerned, pfft. He just still had some things that he needed to get off his chest.

Too caught up in his thoughts, Gaara bumped into someone that was too small to be a girl. Apologetically he looked up into foreign yet familiar brown eyes.

* * *

Neji moaned softly when soft ivory skin was squeezed between strong tanned fingers. Again he had to check the sounds coming from his mouth when the blonde standing just in front of him pulled him closer by the twin globes of his ass, almost painfully impaling him to the hilt once again. He felt Naruto's low moan vibrating from the teen's mouth from where his hand was placed to confirm the blonde's silence, causing him to shiver. He could have lost it right then.

The blonde sped up, rocking the desk beneath them so much that it scraped and clashed noisily against the table behind them. Neji couldn't bring himself to care at that moment. He concentrated on his upcoming climax, judging from the Uzumaki's speed of movement, he was terribly close as well.

Suddenly, white stars exploded behind Neji's eyes, he let out a loud yelping moan. The last of the noise was cut off as Naruto shook the brunette's hand away from his mouth and covered his lips with his own. Neji whimpered when his bottom lip was tugged at just before the blonde's own growl of release was pushed through.

As he came down from his momentary high, Neji pushed Naruto away from him slightly, whispering that they had to dress and get going before someone found them. Naruto snorted.

"You worry too much, Neji." Reluctantly he pulled away from the brunette just enough to give the boy's prone half naked body a once over. He smoothed the hair out of the Hyuuga's face and kissed him hard. "You have no idea how hot you look right after sex..."

Neji mumbled a few words that didn't catch the Uzumaki's ear and pushed him away roughly, a small impish grin on his face.

After cleaning up with a few dampened paper towels retrieved from the bathroom, both teens looked at the clock almost simultaneously. Naruto laughed, Neji cursed.

* * *

"So you and Neji are friends?" said the brunette who stood at least three inches taller than Gaara. The red head nodded and the boy gave out a soft whistling noise. "Personally I thought he was kind of anti-social, but it's nice to know he can make friends. Unlike some people." he motioned towards the Uchiha that grumpily walked past, the ever present trail of fan girls in his wake.

Gaara shrugged, "I suppose so..."

"So what are you looking for him for?" the teen asked. Gaara sighed.

When he bumped into the boy he remembered him to be the one Naruto to be constantly hanging around. But recently they seemed to have been separated from one another. Gaara asked why that was but the boy's only reply was that they had been in an argument and it was 'no big deal'. Then he asked the brunette - who introduced himself later on as Kiba - to help him look for the young genius because he supposed he was somewhere with the blonde. Kiba looked a little hesitant at first but eventually agreed to help.

"I need to discuss something with him." the red head said, turning into the building and heading towards the stairs. As they passed by classrooms they received a few disinterested stairs from students and teachers.

Kiba nodded, placing his hands behind his head as they reached their shared floor classrooms. "If he is with Naruto, then I should take the time to clear up some stuff as well."

"That's good," Gaara nodded. "Best friends should get along." Kiba snorted.

"Yeah, well, most of the time, at least."

Gaara looked at his wristwatch and grimaced at the time. If the two weren't in the classrooms he would have to wait until curfew, which was the new time Neji decided to come to their dorm room. For the last twenty minutes of class Kiba and Gaara managed to slip out of Gai-sensei's eyesight in order to search the gym, boys bathroom, pool area and surrounding field to no avail, looking for the boys in question. Gaara was starting to doubt that they were even together. He had thought that maybe Naruto pulled the Hyuuga aside to talk to him about what had been of concern a few days ago, but he really doubted whatever the Uzumaki had to say would take all period.

Walking all the way down to the end of the hall, he and the taller brunette stopped just outside of his classroom. He was just about to pull the door open when Kiba stopped him, a hand on his arm. He looked up at the boy with a questioning glance. Kiba tapped his ear then pointed at the closed door.

Gaara strained to hear but there were a few muffled sounds coming from the supposedly empty class. He smirked in triumph. Looking back up to the brunette beside him, Gaara's smile faded. Kiba was frowning.

* * *

A song that's hard to keep up with:  
_Himawari_ by **Aqua Timez**

**.  
**

**Kyo **- By the gods... wait. The gods are stupid. _((throws a rock at Zeus))_

**Elliot **- ... Why are you throwing bloody rocks at the sky?

**Kyo **- Because Zeus tricked me and took away all my godly powers.

**Elliot **- So... you think a rock will set 'em straight?

**Kyo **- Yes. Big rocks. Rocks solve everything.

**Elliot **- Uh huh...

**Kyo **- What? Is that doubt I sense in your voice, mortal? You doubt the mighty God of War and his ability to throw really, really, really big rocks!!!

**Elliot **- ... Yeah.

**Kyo **- Blasphemy! Wait, who are you anyway.

**Elliot **- ... Cupid?

**Kyo **- ...Oh... I shall get my revenge, Zeus! I shall keep moving forward!!!! -PS2 breaks down- ... NUUUUU!!!! Curse you Aqua Scum!!!!!!!!!!!

**Elliot** - Does this mean we're close to the end?

Kyo - Maybe..... but the end wont come for a while.... i still have to write it xD. So WAIT! and review :3


	9. I'd Like to Be

** Chapter 9: I'd Like To Be The Beginning, The End And The In-Between**

"Are you okay?" Temari asked as she walked into her little brother's room. Her concern for Gaara had worsened. He wouldn't come down to eat, he barely said anything to her or Kankuro when he bothered to stop by for a visit. She wondered what could have happened to her brother to make him revert in such a state.

She had thought the school was going well, Gaara had spent a good month there without problems and without angry principals and/or teachers calling her to schedule a meeting between them. Temari thought that Gaara had finally mended his ways and, for once attempted to act civil - if nothing else - towards other people. But then the phone call she received about a week ago pretty much disintegrated all the hopes she had for the youngest member of their family.

Stepping into the room more, she hear Gaara's slightly gravely voice call out.

"I'm fine."

She paused in her place, contemplating the best course of action. She didn't want to anger him, but it was still her duty to look after him and make sure he was well, weather he wanted her to or not. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked softly, tilting her head to the side and eying the lump formed underneath the green coverlet.

"No." Was the only spoken reply.

"You sure?"

"I said I was fine."

Temari blinked and cringed some at the impatience in Gaara's voice. He sounded terrible. She made a mental note to fix some soup later and bring it up to his room. He wouldn't eat it, but it didn't hurt to hope.

"...Alright." she whispered softly, padding out of the room, closing the door on her way out. She wished she knew what was wrong with the red head, but she would be damned before he would tell her anything about his personal life. That's the way Gaara was. She doubted even Kankuro knew what was wrong. The look on his face as she returned to the kitchen said it all.

"So...how is he?" he asked reproachfully, leaning an elbow against the small, circular dinning room table. Annemarie let out a deep sigh before standing in front of the stove once more, picking up the lid to a medium sized steaming pot and stirring the contents casually.

"He still won't say anything."

"And you have no idea why he wanted to come home so early?"

"Nope." She admit, setting the chopstick down once more to look through the cabinet for the correct spices. She sniffed through a couple before she found the right one and sprinkled the herb into the mixture in the pot. "He just called me and asked to come pick him up. He seemed really upset about something, but every time I try and ask he pushes me away."

Kankuro nodded, a brief thoughtful look flashing across his face for a moment. He stood and pushed Temari aside, grabbing the wooden ladle and a pack of dried noodles. Temari sighed again, taking the seat her brother was just recently occupying.

"Give him some time, he'll open up eventually." He offered, breaking up the noodles into the pot and slowly stirring.

Temari followed the movements of the wooden spoon slowly, placing her chin in her hands before replying, "...I don't know."

* * *

Gaara really wished he wasn't allowed alone to think, but he wanted it that way. Every since he had been home, that was all he could do; think. About school. About Naruto. About Neji. About the reason why he wanted to go home so abruptly. What was worse was he couldn't figure out if he wanted the events to happen that way or not.

_Oh well. _

_You can't change the past._

* * *

Walking all the way down to the end of the hall, he and the taller brunette stopped just outside of his classroom. He was just about to pull the door open when Kiba stopped him, a hand on his arm. He looked up at the boy with a questioning glance. Kiba tapped his ear then pointed at the closed door.

Gaara strained to hear but there were a few muffled sounds coming from the supposedly empty class. He smirked in triumph. Looking back up to the brunette beside him, Gaara's smile faded. Kiba was frowning.

"Kiba-san?" He whispered, but the Inuzuka's frown just deepened as he stared intensely at the closed door. That's when Gaara heard it as well.

He could only pick out bits and pieces of the conversation, but it was enough to tell what the two in the room were talking about.

"...have to tell him... because he is your best friend." Definitely Neji's voice.

"What about you... what are you going to do about him?" Naruto's voice, which was smaller and softer by comparison of his regular tone. Gaara couldn't make out the brunette's reply, but he heard, "...And when he finds out about us, don't you think that's exactly what he'll believe?"

There was a pause, and then Neji's voice. "I made my intentions clear from the beginning. I never asked for a serious relationship with Gaara."

"Then what were you doing with him?"

"I was trying to forget." Neji said weakly.

"Forget? Forget what?" Naruto huffed, throwing his hands in the air.

"You."

Naruto paused at that and just stared at the brunette in front of him. After a moment he sighed, "... Damn it, Neji. That's reckless."

"Having to hear that from you," Neji looked up into Naruto's blue eyes frowning heavily, "How do you think I feel right now?"

Naruto moved away from the Hyuuga, rubbing the back of his neck irritatedly.

"Well aren't we a pair..." Neji blew out a quick breath of air in annoyance.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I told you, the moment Kiba can stand to look at me in the face, I'll tell him. I'll tell him about us, about the last two years. I'll tell him everything." He paused to look at the brunette who seemed to be in serious contemplation. This situation wasn't the ideal one that Naruto had imagined. He never thought Neji would go and do something so reckless... it wasn't like him at all. _Man, I must have screwed things up pretty bad then_, he told himself silently. "What about you?"

Neji looked at the blonde quickly then turned his face away. He didn't want it to be this way, but the results were going to turn out the same no matter what he did. So, for once he would try to be straight forward and honest.

"I have no other choice, do I? Gaara will understand." he said with conviction.

Gaara stepped away from the door, eyes wide, almost not wanting to believe his ears. What just happened? Was he dismissed without a say so? For the first time in his life, Gaara was hurt. But that hurt quickly turned to rage, insulted at the utter audacity of the Hyuuga to play with him as he had. He turned and stormed off into the direction of his dorm. Kiba called after him, probably followed the red head a good way as well, but it was unknown to Gaara. All he saw, all he heard was tears.

* * *

Neji entered he and Gaara's shared room later that day. After the class had returned, Gaara had not, but he was not in place to go look for the red head at that moment. He waited patiently for class to end and became relieved once he saw the boy just as he walked into the door.

"Gaara, can I talk to you for... a moment?" The Hyuuga stopped dead in his tracks. Several suitcases were strewn about the room, some overfilled with clothes. He looked to Gaara who pulled items out of his drawers hastily. "What are you doing?" he asked, finally.

No answer.

"Why are you packing? Are you going somewhere?"

Silence.

"Gaara..." Neji moved forward to place a hand on the other boy's shoulder, but a pale hand quickly smacked the limb away.

"Don't touch me." Gaara growled dangerously, giving the brunette a harsh glare then turning back to continue packing. After a moment he said, "So what was I to you exactly? Some type of toy?" he didn't pause to look at the Hyuuga as he spoke. He couldn't, for fear that he would do something horrible. "Do you ever consider the emotions of other people?" he sighed, then laughed suddenly. "I guess not, you are one of them, after all."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Neji asked defensively, giving the red head space but not backing away either. Gaara was silent for a long time before shrugging.

"... It doesn't matter. I'm leaving, getting out of this stupid school." He shoved the rest of his things in his suitcases and snapped each one of them shut. At that moment, right on time, his phone began to ring. Answering it, he mumbled his understanding and flipped the devise shut. Gaara gathered up all his things and headed for the door, looking back at the brunette who couldn't do anything but stare in shock.

"Have a nice life."

* * *

Gaara growled and covered his head with a pillow. He had fell in love with the Hyuuga without ever really realising it. He hated himself for that, because of what the boy did. He was traded for someone else. Some one better? That knowledge tore at his soul as well, it was as if he wasn't good enough, for anyone. When will he ever be good enough? That question ripped at his conscious as well. As if all of his life he was shunned away for being himself, though he never resented himself for it. He took pride in being the way he was. At least I'm alive. Which was more than he could say for most people.

At the first ring of his cell, Gaara's arm reached out to snatch it.

"What." he grumbled irately, in no mood for simple manners. Though maybe the person on the other line would get the hint and leave him alone once they notice the temper he is in.

"Hnn," Deidara sighed on the other end. "That's no way to answer the phone."

"What do you want?"

A pause.

"I heard you were home early, un, want some company?"

"No." he said brusquely.

"Maa, why not?"

Before the blonde could complain more, Gaara hung the phone up in his ear. He was in no mood for company. He was in no mood for anything. He wanted to feel numb, but wasn't able to. He hated the way he felt, angry and sad at the same time, upset with everyone around him. He didn't want to feel this way but it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter. He use to look at cheesy romance movies and think they were a joke. He use to laugh at the girl as she got her heart broken and bemoaned all of her woes to the world. He use to scoff at the end when the two got back together and everything was , somehow, all better again. He use to think romance and love was fiction.

'_Use to._'

Past tense.

* * *

"Gaara, you have a visitor." Tamari called from the door.

Gaara sat up in bed abruptly. When had he fallen asleep? He looked out the window and noticed the waning sunlight and frowned. A visitor? He told Deidara he didn't want any company.

"I'm not here." he said, covering himself with the blanket once more. Temari smacked her lips from where she stood and placed her hands on her hips in an exhasperated fashion.

"Don't be so stubborn."

Silence, before a muffled: "...go away."

Temari sighed and entered the room fully to speak with her little brother. "Come on, Gaara. I hate seeing you so... pathetic. What's wrong?" She sat down on his bed and placed her hand on his back, rubbing it gently in massaging little circles. She felt him relax slightly under her touch, this fueld her hope. However, after another moment, the moving lump that was Gaara curled in upon himself even more and tensed up.

"Nothing."

"Gaara you have to stop this! Talk to someone, stop holding everything inside this way." At this point, the elder blonde was at the end of her rope, she didn't know how to deal with him anymore. He didn't want to talk, leaving him alone only seemed to make matters worse. Temari didn't know what to do, she was stuck...

"Go away." Gaara dismissed his sister after her outburst without any emotion behind his muffled voice.

Giving up, Temari nodded solemnly and stood from the bed. "Alright. But what about your guest?" If she couldn't get him out of this funk, then maybe someone else could.

"If it's Sasori or Deidara tell them I died."

Rolling her eyes, Temari scoffed. "And what if it's neither of them?"

"Well who else could it be?" Gaara poked his head out of the sheet in curiousity. Besides Sasori, Deidara and Lee on occasion (whether he wanted the boy to show up or not) no one came to visit. One reason was because his home was all the way in Suna, no one wanted to travel three hour journey from Konoha to there. Secondly, he didn't have many friends. He doubted many people from the Academy would stop by just to see how he was. It was a nice thought, but highly unlikely. Temari gave him a clever smirk.

"Hmm, maybe you should see for yourself. I'll bring him up." She then turned to walk out of the room, leaving Gaara confused and a little interested. Though he knew in the back of his mind that it was probably Sasori or Deidara.

"Ello Gaara."

The accent was enough to confuse the red head, but once he lifted his head to look at the male standing in his doorway, his eyes widened. He hadn't changed much since middle school.

"E-Elliot? What are you doing here?"

The boy smiled softly, still standing in the doorway, Gaara stood to greet him properly. He had gotten taller, though... Gaara noticed, noting the half a head worth of height difference. His limbs seemed longer, leaner, he probably still trained with Gen Fu at times. His face lost some of it's youth, but he still looked the same. Same blonde hair, same blue eyes. It was good seeing him again. Gaara almost lost himself and wrapped the other boy up in a hug, instead he offered a hand, which Elliot gladly accepted.

"I was in town" He explained as Gaara invited him into his room. "And decided for a visit" he looked around at the quaint sized room, noting all of Gaara's belongings. The red head didn't mind though, he would have shared just about anything with the boy.

Elliot paused in the middle of the room, turning to look at Gaara with a sad look on his face. "But it seems like I came at a bad time. Your sister told me you were upset about something." Gaara's face changed slightly, he looked down at the carpet, wondering how he would explain the situation to his long-time friend.

"Um... Yeah..." He started, then stopped, not completely sure how to continue. What would he say? That he fell in love with some jerk at school then got dumped? No... that's not what happened... In order to be dumped, the two of them would have to had been going out, dating. Neji made it painfully clear that what they were had nothing to do with either. Just friends. So how to explain?

"What happened?" Elliot proded curiously in his accent, tilting his blonde head to the side.

He almost said it. almost explained the situation, but for fear of what the other might think of him, Gaara clammed up. Instead he mumbled, "...nothing worth discussing." It was embarrassing and frustrating all at the same time.

Elliot continued smiling. "You sure? I don't mind listening."

"How have you been?" Gaara changed the subject. The blonde looked slightly dejected, but smiled and answered the question anyway.

"Great." he said honestly, though still keeping a few feelings to himself. Being in the same room with Gaara again was overwhelming.

"And the old goat?" He was referring to his old home school teacher. Despite their old fights and argument he missed the old man... and the company he use to have in Elliot. He wished everyone he knew could be like that. Gaara's eyes saddened, his mind wandering back to Neji again.

Blind to the troubled befalling the redhead, the taller blonde replied, "Still as spry as ever. He sends his love and best wishes." He sat on Gaara's bed, bouncing up and down a couple of times before coming to a complete standstill.

"Why didn't he stop by?" He sat down on the bed as well, facing towards the boy. Elliot seemed to think about his response before actually speaking.

"In his old age..." He began slowly. "He does not need the aggravation. You know how it can get whet you two are in a heated confrontation."

Gaara rolled his eyes, smiling. It was nice to just talk to someone he knew, about things that weren't important. "Figures. I'm surprised he hasn't died already. So, how is life in England?" the red head asked for the sake of changing the subject.

"I wouldn't know. I don't live there anymore."

"Why not?" Gaara frowned. Didn't British people always live in Britain? Where would he go? Did his parents allow him to go there or did something happen? a stranger sequence of events that caused him to move out of his parent home.

"Due to certain circumstances at home, I moved in with Master Gen Fu a few years ago." Elliot replied stoically.. He looked down at the floor, a calm, peacful expression taking over his features. "It's very nice there," he added after a while. "Peaceful. I get to help out around the house and a lot with his granddaughter too." He turned back towards Gaara, smiling happily.

"Hmm... " the red head thought, placing a hand on his chin. "That sounds nice." He allowed himself to smile, though it was only brief and the other could not see.

"Yeah, it's how I kind of pay rent since I'm saving up for university."

"Which one do you plan to go to?"

"Konoha."

Gaara blinked and almost choked on his own spit as he turned to look deer eyed at the other boy. "What?" he said incredulously. "Why Konoha University?"

The smile could not be wiped off of the blonde's face now. Gaara noticed how much nicer he looked when Elliot smiled and blushed faintly. Don't... Don't go down that path.

"I wanted to find one... close to you." The British boy said, smoothing out the wrinkles in his pants. "I know it seems foolish, but I missed you a lot, Gaara." It was the truth, he missed lost time spent with one of his best friends. He couldn't say that about very many people. Gaara was the one person in his life - he felt - needed and should be in it.

"It has been a long time." the red head nodded, becoming slightly uncomfortable. "Nearly three years." He counted off in his head.

What had I been doing in those three years? What has my life become since then? There were so many thoughts ruining through his mind, but he couldn't seem to focus on a single one. He would always have that doubt, the uncertainty about everything. But past actions can not be changed, no matter how many times he wished that they could.

"Un," The blonde agreed. "That much time can change a person, so I want to get to know you again, Gaara. I want to know what kind of person you have grown up to become. What kind of changes you have gone through. Tell me everything." he said excitedly.

"I'd rather not. Some changes probably weren't for the better." He hated to ruin the mood, but right now in his life, he wasn't happy with the changes he made. Changes made for the wrong reasons... for the wrong people.

"But everybody changes for a reason." But the red head stayed quiet, silently brooding to himself. Elliot smiled reflectively. "It's good to see that you are still prideful and stubborn. Somethings are very reluctant to change. But then, that is one of the things that make you... you."

"Yeah, you're still the same as well."

"In more ways than you know." His smile turned mysterious.

"Huh?"

Shrugging, the boy stood from the bed. "Let's go to lunch." Before Gaara could protest to the invitation, Elliot added, "I want to hear more about you, Gaara. I want to know the type of people you have befriended, the types of people you have loved and weather or not they have loved you back. And after we discuss you, all of you. Maybe I'll tell you a few things about me."

Gaara didn't think it was a very fair deal, but it was an invitation from a very dear friend. He couldn't just say no.

* * *

**Epilogue**

There was so much to do this year. He still hadn't made the call to Lee or Kiba to make sure what time they would be over for dinner. Lee was too busy with his long time girlfriend, Kasumi. During high school they became quite close. Gaara believed it was sometime after their first match against each other. They made quite the couple... indeed, though he would not like to see the two get into an argument. It was not long until they fell head over heals for each other. Three years after high school an they were still going strong. Because the two invited him to their engagement party, he thought it proper to invite them to Christmas. After all, Elliot did request that he send invites to as many people as possible.

Kiba spent his time 'redecorating' his and Shino's apartment. Later on, after the ordeal had happened, Gaara learned that the Inuzuka told hi mom of his sexual preferences. He was kicked out and practically disowned by his entire family. Though, he supposed the boy was luck that Shino and his family accepted him into their home when he had nowhere else to turn to.

Gaara watched pensively as his boyfriend walked in and out of different stoors. Shopping at this time of the year was the worst. He pulled the scarf up to his nose and huffed when he could still see his warm breath in the air. He switched his weight from one foot to the other and adjusted the shopping bags in his hands.

"Ell, are you done yet?" he growled from his position outside the store. Elliot stopped to look back at the redhead and smiled flawlessly.

"But Gaara, there are so many things to choose from." He held out more bags for the grumpy red head to take. "You won't believe what I got everyone, and I still have to look for Kankuro and Deidara's gift. They seem to be the toughest." he said thoughtfully, placing a hand on his cheek. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Just hurry up then." he replied gruffly, face turning red from the cold.

Elliot smiled. "Are you getting cold?" He placed gloved hands on the redhead's cheeks and leaned his forehead on that of the red head. "You're freezing..." he whispered. Blushing, Gaara turned his eyes towards the passersby on the street.

"Just," he sniffed. "...finish your shopping." He tried hard to make himself sound more angry that he actually was.

"Ok." the blonde agreed, removing his scarf to wrap around the smaller male. Before turning back to the stores he kissed Gaara on the forehead.

* * *

Naruto stopped as he looked back when the hand in his pulled him to a stop. The other male's gaze was somewhere in the distance. He didn't bother to look, they had somewhere to be. He waved a hand in front of the brunette's face.

"Neji? What's wrong?"

The Hyuuga continued to stare out into the snow covered streets of Shibuya. He wasn't sure, but if the red hair was any indication, he had finally found the Sabaku. He smiled as a blonde haired boy interacted with the red head_. So he's not alone after all..._ Realising that he had a certain other tugging at his arm as well, Neji turned his focus back onto the blonde.

"Sorry," he continued walking. Naruto frowned, looking back over his shoulder at the spot the Hyuuga was staring at.

"What's up, why'd you stop so suddenly?"

"I thought I saw someone." he explained quietly.

Naruto nodded. "And?"

He looked at the blue eyed man. "Shouldn't we be looking for baby presents? Hinata will be awful disappointed if we show up empty-handed." He watched the look of horror wash over Naruto's face with humor. _Whoever that person was, I don't know him anymore._

* * *

**Kyo **- THERE it's finished. THEY DON'T END UP TOGETHER BUT EVERYONE STILL HAD A HAPPY ENDING.  
You can thank me now.


End file.
